A Long Way to Go
by ImJustCaitlin
Summary: Torn between leaving his recently motherless daughter on Montressor to keep her safe, and trying to balance commanding his ship and protecting a baby he desperately wants to hold onto, Jim Hawkins must deal with the grief of losing his wife while his ship must prepare for the inevitable battle between the Imperial Navy and a particularly aggressive new Space Nation. JimxOC
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Funerals at Space weren't the large, elaborate affairs they were planet side, but what could be done about it? Jim would have loved to have given her everything she deserved in a burial, but they were months away from Montressor, or her home planet, and he knew she wouldn't have wanted to turn the voyage around for her. She would have wanted it this way; he knew, because she told him.

"A burial...at Space…would be nice," she had whispered, arms wrapped weakly around the still bundle in her arms.

"Don't talk like that!" Jim had insisted, but he knew nothing else could be done for her. She was too far gone.

"Remember that…that time I had to come recue you and…Doppler after the….longboat engine failed?" Her eyes fluttered shut briefly, before she opened them again with great difficulty.

"Yes," was all he'd had the power to squeak.

"That boat…that's the one…I want…"

Jim was a man of his word. She could have asked for him to set the whole ship ablaze on her dying breath, and he would have done it. As he carried her across the deck, wrapped in a sheet, her feet the only visible part of her sticking out one end, he didn't look up at the stony faces of the crew lined along each side, hats removed out of respect. A few looked at the young Captain with empathy in their eyes, he wasn't the first nor only man who had lost a loved one at Space, nor would he be the last, but none dared say it to him. Not so soon after, anyway.

It took all of two seconds to rig the longboat to 'autopilot' and input the coordinates for its slow journey into empty space, but it took much longer for Jim to finally lay her still body down. He didn't want to let her go. As he stood motionless, staring at the smooth plane of the sheet covering her face, a hand finally reached out and rested gently on his shoulder. Breaking gaze for only a moment, Jim's eyes met with Doppler's, and the older man nodded. With another long glance at the woman he loved, Jim finally set her gingerly at the bottom of the boat, and reached for the switch to open the bottom hatch.

No words were said on her behalf, mostly because Jim was afraid that if he spoke, he wouldn't be able to make words come out. So instead, as the boat was lowered, he and the rest of the crew silently saluted. And just as the longboat was released and started on its way, the small bundle Doppler was holding began to cry.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"Jim, would you like me to-"

"I can handle it, I can handle it!"

"But, oh, do be careful! You're going to-!" Just as Doppler was about to finish his sentence, Evelyn wiggled just enough in the crook of his arm to unbalance herself, and as Jim reached over to save her from falling to the ground, the line he'd been trying to secure flew from his grasp, whizzing through its bearings and smacking Mr. Upstart right in his face.

"Hey!" the boney alien shouted, nearly losing his footing up in the riggings, "watch it!"

"Jim, honestly! You can't do everything!" Doppler took the baby girl from the Captain's hands and rested her against his shoulder, where she promptly started pulling his ear. "The deck is no place for a baby!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Jim snapped, turning to hoist himself up the mast and fetch the rope he'd lost. "Assign someone to watch her? Like anyone here has any experience with kids." Doppler cleared his throat at this; either Jim was choosing to ignore the fact that Doppler had successfully been raising four children for the past seven years, or he was under too much stress to recall the information.

"Well, I don't mean to be the bee in your barrel, but neither do you," he pointed out, not unkindly, and Jim landed on the deck with a thud, rope in hand. Pushing the hair away from his face, h tried not to burn a hole through his old friend with his glare, but it was hard. Like he didn't know he was clueless? Jim had no idea what to do with his daughter! Women always seemed to know exactly how to deal with children, from the very first time they gave birth, but Jim didn't even know how to deal with the youngest member of his crew, let alone a baby.

And yet…every time he looked into her small face, so like her mother's, he couldn't help but smile and want to hold her, and never let her go. As much as he was terrified of doing the wrong thing, he was more sure of himself bumbling through parenthood than handing her off. Besides, who would he hand her off too? Everyone on the ship had a job to do, and besides it wasn't like he trusted this bunch a whole lot. He knew Doppler would take care of her, but he had his own duties on board, duties that required him to control the navigation panels and keep watch over the anomalies and disturbance RADAR reports. If Jim screwed up his duties chasing after Evelyn, then he'd probably just end up letting out a sail or bumping a rudder out of place. If Doppler screwed up HIS duties, however, they would be in a whole lot more trouble.

As if reading the young Captain's mind, Doppler let out a sigh, and handed the baby back to him. "You know," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose, "I'm sure Sarah would watch over her, while you're at Space." There was a small silence between the two as Jim's eyes traced the tiny winkles on his daughter nose as she smiled up at him, and he thought the notion over. They were heading in the direction of Montressor, he hadn't been planning to stop, seeing as they were on a pretty tight schedule. But could he really just hand her over? Evelyn giggled, and reached a tiny hand out, patting the side of her father's face, and giggled even more as his five o clock shadow tickled her palm.

_'What would Maya tell me to do?'_ Jim thought, eyes blurring out as he started to stare off, literally, into Space. _'Maya was so smart, and so sure of herself. She wouldn't be second guessing, like I am.'_

"Just think about it," Doppler said, defeated, as he melted away into the bustle of the ship. It was quite obvious that Jim was thinking about his late wife again. He always had that same face on, Doppler recognized it well. It was the same look he'd worn most of the time as a troubled teenager, thinking about his Father. It had disappeared for a long time, Jim having finally found himself after their adventure, but now it seemed as if it were back, with a vengeance.

* * *

The Etherium never grew completely dark, but as the light around the ship INF Silver grew dim, the crew began to finish their work and turn in for the night. Doppler had been watching over his Goddaughter while Jim helped the crew take in the sails, as told his friend he would watch over her that night, so Jim could get in a good night's sleep. Evelyn was just a smidgen over a year old, and still woke up every few hours to wail and demand either food or attention. Jim was thankful for the small break, and as he shut the door behind him in his quarters, he nearly collapsed to the ground. Today hadn't been easy, seeing as Evelyn was especially fussy, and he knew he couldn't go on much longer like this. Strictly speaking, having an infant on board was against Navy regulations, and if any higher-ups were to find Jim balancing his time between commanding and babysitting, he'd no doubt suspended from the Silver. Perhaps permanently removed. Of course no one was about to snitch on him, not after everything that he'd been through, but the danger was always there.

And then there was the problem of constantly having to keep Eve out of danger. She was crawling, and if he took his eyes off of her for one second, or set her down for a single moment, she would be off somewhere, poking at something she shouldn't be poking at! And this was, after all, and Imperial Navy ship. This hunk of wood and metal wasn't outfitted with military grade cannons for nothing. What if they were attacked? What if she were hurt? What if she were…no, he couldn't even think it. There was no way he would let anything happen to her precious daughter.

But leaving her with his Mother? He knew she was just a baby, but he wouldn't be able to see her again for a long time. In fact, the next time they would even be close to Montressor wouldn't be for a few more years! He would miss so much of her young life! Would she even recognize him? Pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes, he leaned against the door, and slid to the ground. He didn't want his daughter to feel that he had abandoned her; that was quite possibly the worst feeling a child could have. His own Father had abandoned him, and he had been so messed up for such a long time! Even now, he still fostered a feeling of resentment, but when he was younger, he constantly asked himself, why wasn't I enough to make you want to stay? What was wrong with me? His childhood was plagued with feelings of inadequacy and hurt, the last thing he wanted to do was make his daughter feel the same way.

But as he sat, he couldn't help but feel that the main reason he didn't want to leave her with his Mother was that, it would kill him to give her up. She was all he had left of Maya, she was the only thing left to reassure him that, yes, Maya had been real. There was no grave, no ashes, just her daughter, and while Jim knew she wouldn't be safe here for long, the thought of letting her go was too much to bare. He would die without her! But he knew, she would die here with him. And he would do anything to protect his little girl.

Even if it meant sending her away.

* * *

"Dr. Doppler." Jim nodded to the older man as Evelyn switched arms, smiling up at her father.

"Only woke up twice, the little angel," he said, pinching her cheek gently.

"I…adjust our coordinates for Montressor," Jim finally said, not meeting his eyes. Despite being a fully grown man and a highly recommended officer of the Imperial Navy, the streak of pride Jim fostered still made him feel rather angry at having to follow through on anyone else's suggestion. Doppler didn't say anything, just nodded, and turned to leave. He wasn't about to gloat, or congratulate Jim for finally seeing sense, that would only make him want to take it back. No, he was just happy he was finally going to do what was right by Evelyn.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"BEN, would you take this order to table six please?" Sarah handed the tray of food over to the metal man, before turning back to the onions she'd been chopping. BEN, clad in a light pink apron, smiled and obliged, but hadn't gotten two steps out of the kitchen before Sarah heard a deafening crash. Sighing heavily, she set her knife down and followed him out, angry but not entirely surprised, seeing as BEN dropped at least a tray a week. For a robot, he was rather clumsy. "How many times have I told you, BEN, be-"

"Hi, Mom." The older woman was stopped in her tracks and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she caught sight of her son standing in the doorway. BEN was wrapped around him in a full body hug, much to Jim's discontent.

"Oh, Jimmy, I'm so happy to see you!" BEN was shouting, finally letting go of Jim, laughing in that semi-hysterical way of his. "I thought you were never coming back! You've been gone so long! So what did you bring, me, huh!?"

"Jim?" Mrs. Hawkins hesitated for only a moment, before rushing over and hugging Jim in a similar fashion, eyes wet with tears. "Oh, my baby boy! I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Mom," he said, smiling down at his Mother. It had been about a year and a half since he'd last visited, his assignments with the Navy keeping him away for so long, and since the last time he'd been home either he had grown taller or his Mother had gotten shorter. She now barely reached his chin.

"Ah, I see the Benbow has received a new coat of paint since our last visit," Dr. Doppler chimed in, a few steps out on the front porch, looking up at the building appreciatively. Evelyn was wrapped up in a patched blue blanket, wiggling in his arms. Sarah looked up over her son's shoulder to greet her old friend as well, but again halted when she saw what he was holding.

"Dilbert, what have you got?" she asked slowly, letting go of Jim to walk over. As she approached, Eve twisted her head to look up at her grandmother, and babbled. "It's…a baby?" She looked from Jim to Dilbert and back, before her face lit up in realization. "You and Maya had a baby!? On the Silver!? Why in her Majesty's name wasn't I sent a letter!? Oh, let me see him!"

"It's a girl," Jim corrected, walking over as Evelyn was handed to Sarah. "Her name is Evelyn." He watched as his Mother cradled her granddaughter in her arms, smiling from ear to ear as Evelyn's tiny hand reached up to grab her nose; now that he really looked, Jim realized that Eve had the same nose as his mother.

"Let me see the baby!" BEN said, shoving Doppler out of the way to get a better look. Dilbert just huffed, and crossed his arms. "Look, she's so cute! Humans look like little pink plurps when they're tiny! That reminds me of this one time, when Flint was-"

"You and Maya must be so happy!" Sarah interrupted, looking back to her son. "Speaking of which, where is she?" She looked around for a minute, puzzled, and then peered around the door to where one of the Silver's longboats was tied down at the docks. "You didn't leave her back at the Spaceport, did you? I love seeing Maya!"

Both men fell silent then, and Jim's gaze immediately fell to the floorboards. Sarah shot Dilbert a questioning look, and the Doctor cleared his throat, stepping forward through the doorway.

"I think you and I should talk," he said to Sarah, taking Evelyn from her arms and handing her back to Jim, who received her gratefully. "In the kitchen."

"Can I come?" BEN asked hopefully, but was immediately shot down.

"You can clean up the tray you dropped," Sarah said, as she was led away by Dr. Doppler. He shut the door behind them, and sat down in a chair by the corner, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Okay, tell me what's going on, Dilbert. What's wrong with Maya?"

"Maya is dead, Sarah." He hadn't meant to say it so gravely, but as soon as he did, it became so quiet that a pin could be heard hitting the floor. Sarah was speechless, and slowly, a hand rose to cover her mouth as she leaned against the door.

"What?"

"She died shortly after Evelyn's birth. We were too far out in Space, we couldn't get her planet side in time. There was nothing we could do to save her." Doppler could remember it like it was yesterday; Evelyn's birth was a rocky one from the start, being on a ship and all, but after, Maya had succumbed to infection, and over the next two days had slowly faded away from them. It couldn't have been a worse way to go. Meeting Sarah's eyes, he could see tears spill freely down her cheeks,

"I can't believe it," she choked out, rubbing her sleeve across her eyes. "She can't be! They were married just three years ago!" Sarah still had a picture of Jim and Maya in a frame, hanging on the wall of the inn. They'd been married here at the Benbow, and Maya had worn Sarah's old wedding dress. To think that she was gone, just like that…

"It was hard on all of us, none more so than Jim." Doppler stood up, straightening his vest. "He's been clinging to his daughter like a lifeline, she's all he has left. It was tragic, Sarah," he sighed, "I'm glad you didn't have to see it; we almost lost Jim as well. If it weren't for Evelyn, I don't think he would have chosen to go on." Sarah couldn't speak, she had her head buried in her hands, sobs threatening to bubble out of her throat.

"M-my…poor…J-jim!" she managed, looking up momentarily.

"Come now, Sarah," Doppler said, laying an arm around her. "Dry your eyes, Jim still has Evelyn, and she is a wonderful little girl. She has his eyes, and if I remember correctly, Jim was just as troublesome as a baby as she is." This made Sarah smile a bit, and she sniffed before straightening up. "You have to be strong for Jim; seeing others cry is his invitation to shut down." Nodding, she went grab a washcloth from the sink. Wiping away her tears, she took a deep breath, and exited into the main dining room with Dilbert.

* * *

Jim knew what Doppler was saying. He knew that his Mother would cry, and he knew Doppler would tell her to be strong for him. Jim hated this. He hated that he wasn't the only one suffering. He would gladly take the misery away from Dr. Doppler and his Mother; he was already miserable enough for the lot of them anyway. He didn't want to see Sarah cry; he'd already seen her cry enough growing up.

Evelyn snuggled into his chest as he held her, sitting in the corner of the room, pathetically staring into space. Being with Evelyn was the only thing that could cheer him up if anyone ever mentioned Maya, but now he was going to have to leave her here. What would he do without her? True, there would be no more worrying whether or not she would be safe if the ship suddenly pitched and threw everyone off balance, or if they were attacked, but now he would have no one to hold when he felt weak; no one to turn to when he felt like giving up.

"What am I going to do without you?" he whispered to her, to which she babbled up at him. Just as he smiled at her, Doppler and his Mother walked back out, Sarah's eyes red, as she had obviously just cried. It made Jim sick to his stomach to think of her crying.

"May I hold her again," Sarah asked, sitting down next to her son. Doppler was already on his way out, mumbling something about visiting the litter before they left. Jim nodded, somewhat numbly, and handed her over, never taking his eyes of her. 'I've got to do it now,' he thought, 'before I lose my nerve and change my mind. It's for her own good.'

"I've got…I have to ask you something," he finally managed to say, wringing his hands. Sarah nodded, signaling him to go on, and watched as he took a deep breath before continuing. "I can't have Evelyn on the ship with me anymore," he said. "It's…she's not safe. And if an Imperial Inspector found out, I'd lose my job. It's not easy, Mom, without…" he trailed off and bit his lip, trying not cry. "If we were attacked, and she was hurt, I'd never forgive myself. Will you keep her for me?"

Sarah realized how hard it must be for Jim to ask her this. After her husband had left them, Sarah wouldn't have given up Jim for the world. Watching him go off with Doppler all those years ago had been torture for her; she couldn't imagine how much worse it must have been for Jim. But she realized that he cared for his daughter so much more than his own feelings. He really loved this little girl.

"Of course," she answered, giving her son a sad smile. "I would be happy to."


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Doppler sat in the overstuffed armchair, hands over his eyes as he slowly counted to ten. Not far off, three sets of feline eyes peered at their father from the shadows, as a forth pair lazily blinked not far away.

"Six…seven…eight," he counted, before all Hell broke loose as his three daughters leapt at him, tackling him and bringing him to the ground. "Ow! Hey! This isn't hide and seek!"

"It's attack hide and seek!" the tallest of the three growled, batting at his face without claws. "You have to find us before we attack you!"

"But I wasn't even done counting!" Just then, the drawing room door swung open and in walked Amelia, tray of tea in hand. Still dressed in Imperial Academy white, she had just returned home when her husband had shown up quite unexpectedly.

"Oh, poppycock. One must be on their toes whilst playing hide and seek. A good old fashioned kamikaze attack is always around the corner, dear." Setting the tray down on the coffee table, Daniel, the Doppler's only son poked his head out of hiding, fixated on the tray of cookies not too far away. True, they were slightly burned; Amelia never had gotten ahold of the concept of 'edible cooking', but slightly charred food was what the quadruplets had grown up on. In fact, on nights when their mother had to stay late at the Academy, on Headmistress duties, and they went to stay with their Aunt Sarah, they didn't have much of a taste for her well prepared dinners.

"Give your poor old Dad a warning next time, girls! And Daniel," he looked up just in time to see his son with two cookies in his mouth, trying to fit a third in, "Don't spoil your dinner!"

"Leave some for the rest of us!" the girls squealed, jumping off of their Dad, letting him sit up, and storming the plate. As soon as each kid had a fistful of cookies, they disappeared up the steps, all shrieking that another had gotten more than them. Amelia chuckled as she sat next to where her husband slumped on the floor, and bent down to kiss him on the forehead.

"I must say, your visit comes as a surprise. I hadn't expected you for at least several more months." Unbuttoning the elaborate jacket, she folded it neatly over the arm of the chair and crossed her legs. "A pleasant surprise, that is."

"Yes, well, I wish I could say I came baring good news." Delbert said, rising to sit in the chair opposite Amelia, and picked up a teacup. "But I'm afraid it's far from that. The Silver only made a stop on Montressor for the night, under Captain's orders. You see…your remember Jim's wife, Maya?"

"Yes, yes, the charming young woman that the girls couldn't get enough of. I swear, if I had a Drabloon for every time Wendy asked me recreate Maya's curls on her own wispy hair, we would be far more wealthy than we already are!" She smiled at her own joke, but Doppler didn't reciprocate. "What's the matter? And don't say, Cat's got your tongue, because that pathetic pick up stopped working on me years ago!"

"Jim and Maya had a daughter, while out at Space," he began. "But shortly after, Maya passed away." He looked up to see not quite shock on his wife's face, but something akin to it. Amelia was never shocked, but if she ever had been, it would have been then.

"Well, that's very unfortunate," she said, after a long pause. "But what's to be expected from a birth on board a ship? Even by my high standards of cleaning, I would never prescribe any woman give birth on a ship. Was this merely a case of bad planning?" The clinical and somewhat unfeeling was Amelia spoke about this matter sent a shiver down Delbert's spine.

"Bad planning, naivety, maybe a little bit of disbelief? In any matter, Jim has been both roles as babysitter and Captain for a little over a year now. I've helped my fair share, granted, but it's taking its toll on Jim. He just can't do it anymore. And it's not safe for a child to be on an Imperial ship. Injury is a constant worry."

"Not to mention, Mr. Hawkins could lose his job. Under technicality, it is an Imperial offense to endanger a child's life," Amelia pointed out, though even she realized she wasn't helping.

"Quite right. So, we've stopped for the night, so that Jim can ask his Mother if he can leave Evelyn in her care for the time being. I have no doubt Sarah will say yes."

"The child's name is Evelyn?" Amelia's ears perked up at that, ignoring almost every other word of the sentence. "That's quite adorable. Evelyn. You know, I was considering that name for one of the girls before they were born." Her thoughts only drifted for a small moment, before she snapped back to the matter at hand. "But yes, it's smart of Mr. Hawkins to put the child's needs ahead of his own. I can understand how hard it must be, though, to come to this conclusion on his own. He is a bright boy, yes, but not overly maternal, I'd guess."

"Well, the decision was made with some…slight persuasion," Doppler said, laughing a little bit. "I was only afraid he wouldn't come to it in time, you see. A little nudge was all he needed."

"Are you sure that was wise?" Doppler almost spit out his tea as his wife spoke. Wise? Of course it was! The Silver was no place for a baby, anyone could see that! But as usual, Amelia was two steps ahead of him already. "What I mean is, was it wise to push him into the decision? Of course it's the best choice, but if Mr. Hawkins didn't come to the conclusion all on his own, don't you fear that he might come to regret it and, in turn, resent you for it?"

"The thought did cross my mind," he admitted, "but the pros outweigh the cons. Would I rather Jim resent me later on than have to send a tiny body out to Space in a longboat? Yes." He nodded at that, setting his cup down. Amelia smiled at him; could she have picked a better man to fall in love with? Standing, she strode over and sat on his lap, draping her arms around his shoulders.

"As always dear, your intellect outshines even the brightest of stars," she said, kissing his nose. But, as if on cue, a shrill chorus of 'EEEWWW!'s came from the top of the stairs, where all four children stood, detesting the display of affection between their parents.

* * *

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Jim called up to her, wind causing the ropes around him to snap as they threatened to pull from their knots. "Be careful- watch it! Please come down!" Maya took no notice, though, bare feet swinging free as she kicked her legs against the wind. Her hair, crazy and bushy as always, whipped around her face, golden as the sun of the planet she was born on. Seated on the arm of the mast, her figure was silhouetted on the solar sail that snapped in the wind behind her.

"Calm down," she laughed, watching as her husband's face grew more and more panicked. Her voice drifted down to him on the strong breeze like the melody of a song. "I'm only watching the approaching stars. Look how beautiful they are!"

"I don't care about them, I want you to come down!" he answered.

"I'm not coming down until you come up!" He could almost hear the triumphant laugh in her voice, because both knew she had already won the argument. Grumbling to himself, Jim hoisted himself up the mast, and pulled himself onto the arm where she sat. Wrapping an arm around her waist and glancing down at the deck nervously, he turned to his new wife and let out a loud sigh.

"Okay, I'm up. Now you hold up your end of the deal and come down!" Maya held a finger to his lips, silencing him, and then took hold of his chin and turned his head to face where the event horizon showed twin stars, rising up out of the darkness.

"Look how beautiful," she whispered, barely audible over the wind. For a moment Jim stared, until he glanced sideways at Maya.

"Yeah, beautiful," he said, smiling just a bit. Catching his eye, she rolled her own eyes and shoved him playfully.

"Stop it!"

"You know it's true." He caught her hand in his own, and pulled her closer. "I've been a Spacer for ten years, and I've never seen anything as beautiful as what I'm looking at right now."

"You are a piece of work, Jim Hawkins," their faces only centimeters apart, Jim was about to close the gap, when everything around him went black. In an instant, the ship, the sails, Maya, everything was gone, and he was alone, standing in the middle of a big black nothingness. Panicking again, he whipped his head around, searching for his wife.

"Maya?" he called into the darkness, and he heard his own voice echo back. "Maya! Where are you!" Again, only his echo answered, and he began to run. "Maya! Answer me!" His feet hit what seemed to be a metallic surface, though he couldn't see anything below him, and this time, instead of his echo, he heard crying in the distance.

Instantly the black enveloping him dissolved, and he found himself staring wide eyed at the crew of his ship, locked in battle with what appeared to be enemy Spacers. The ship that was circling theirs didn't bear the flag of a pirate fleet; it was quite obviously a nation flag, but Jim couldn't place the origin, and the men grappling with his crew were dressed in what appeared to be uniforms. Jackets, boots, well made, standard issue swords, the works that Spacers of the Imperial Navy were given, but in unfamiliar designs and colors. Who were his men fighting!?

Again, Jim heard crying, and as his head snapped up, he saw one of the enemy Spacers tucking a small patchwork bundle into the crook of one of its arms, before swinging over the edge of the INF Silver and onto the deck of its own ship. Jim knew instantly what the man had taken from him. Launching himself forward, an almost animal-like roar erupted from his throat as he vaulted over the edge of the deck, hands outstretched to tackle the man who dared touch his child, but just as his fingers came close to his enemy's neck, everything around him vanished once more, and he found himself falling. This time, though, as he fell, he could see the stars and the cosmos fly past him, at greater and greater speeds, until he thought he just couldn't take it anymore…!

Jim sat up with a start, drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. Looking around in panic, he realized he was in his old room, in his old bed, and had just woken with a start from a dream. A nightmare. As his heart rate slowed to normal, he ran a hand through his hair and tried to catch his breath; it wasn't real, it wasn't real.

Except for the part with Maya, that had been real. A memory, from just after they'd been married. A bittersweet smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he tried to linger in the memory for just a moment longer. How he wished to be back, stuck in time up on the mast with her, reliving the same moment endlessly. He would have given almost anything to have her back, if only for that moment.

Making his way down the stairs to the main room of his Mother's living quarters, he was enthusiastically greeted by BEN, but the robot was largely ignored as Jim flopped down on an armchair and rubbed his eyes.

"I was thinkin', Jimmy, your Mum sure could use more help around here. Maybe you could stay here, and not leave, and then everyone would be happy!"

"Believe me, BEN, if there was a way I could stay longer, I would," he replied, scratching the side of his face; how long had it been since he'd shaved? Jeez, he hadn't had a full on beard in a while.

The rest of the morning went much the same; BEN talking mostly nonsense to Jim as he followed his Mother and Evelyn around, knowing that he really should be leaving for the spaceport. He just couldn't though; every time he thought he could leave, his daughter would do something so tooth-rottingly sweet and adorable, that he couldn't tear himself away from her. His Mother had taken watch over her that night, and had dressed her in some of Jim's old baby clothes, which were just about a size too big still, and it was so precious to watch her crawl about in her oversized onesie. But it wasn't long until Sarah realized what was going on.

"Jim, you've got to go soon," she said, hoisting the little girl onto her shoulder and patting her back. "I hate to have to tell you this, but you can't drag out your goodbye all day. The longer you wait, the more you'll want to take her with you."

"I know, I know. I'm just…I'm just going to miss her." Reaching out, he held her up so that he was looking into her round, golden little face. Sighing, and shooting his Mother one last despairing look, he cleared his throat. "Be good, alright," he said, almost matter of factly. "Don't be bad…not that you could be bad. Grandma's going to take good care of you." Sarah huffed slightly at being referred to as 'Grandma'. "And…just know that, Daddy's going to miss you. And that I love you." Holding her close, a tear ran down Jim's cheek, and after a long minute, and after Evelyn started to squirm, he finally handed her back, and before he could change his mind and snatch her back, he turned and started for the door.

Doppler was already outside, saying goodbye to his own children as Amelia untied the longboat; Doppler had never gotten good with knots. Without a word, Jim climbed in and before Doppler had even gotten both legs in, they took off.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

_'Life sucks.'_ Glaring up at the dimly lit Etherium, one leg dangling over the edge of the crow's nest, Jim sat, whittling away mindlessly at a chunk of wood. Turning the little bronzed knife over in his hands every once in a while, he eventually gave up trying to turn the hunk into anything, and chucked it over the edge. He wasn't really paying attention, but he thought he heard a small thunk, followed by a hushed 'Ouch! Damn Captain!'

It was almost four months after their departure from the Montressor Spaceport, and while Jim filled his days throwing himself back into working with the ship, his nights he spent aloft, sleeplessly wondering how Evelyn was doing. He had nothing to fill the endless hours of unrestful darkness anymore, the nightmares being too hard for even him to handle. It was always the same thing, the same unknown force attacking out of nowhere, overtaking his crew, and stealing Evelyn. He tried to tell himself it was all nonsense; Evelyn was safe at home after all. And why would a hostile fleet want a baby, anyway? It wasn't like Jim was a particularly notorious Captain. Sure, he'd found Treasure Island, which sounded like a big deal. But the other recruits at the Imperial Academy had been sure to let him know that inside Imperial walls, it didn't mean one shred of credit.

'Stop obsessing,' he told himself, tucking his arms behind his head as he continued to gaze upward. 'It's just a dream. Dreams don't mean anything.' And yet, even though he knew it was crazy, he couldn't help but worry, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it really meant something.

The next morning, after only a few hours of unfit sleep, Jim was woken just as the Silver was entering orbit with the star Ignious-286, an Imperial system. A rather large four winged bird had perched itself on the edge of the crow's nest, and let out a loud squawk, waking Jim instantly and almost causing him to tumble down to the deck.

"Damn bird," he muttered as it flew off, as he pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked down to the deck. No one but the cabin boy was up yet, though he guessed the ship's cook was awake as well, only out of sight. Stretching, Jim took hold of one of the ropes and swung himself over the edge, repelling down the mast until he landed with a thud not too far from said cabin boy. The kid, Kel, as some of the crew called him, jumped back and tipped over the bucket of water by his feet when Jim landed, before slipping and falling back.

"Jeez! Scared me, Captain!" he gasped, scrambling to stand back up. He obviously had not realized Jim had been sleeping up there, though how he could have missed it was beyond Jim. He'd been sleeping out in the open air since he'd left Evelyn on Montressor. His quarters seemed too quiet without her waking him up every few hours.

"Uh, sorry," he said, and started to make his way over to the bow, before stopping to peer back at Kel. The boy, who was younger than Jim had been when he'd first set foot on the Legacy, picked the bucket up, but scowled as he looked at the spilled water and soap. Rubbing the back of his neck, Jim felt a little responsible, and therefore a little guilty. Thinking on it a moment, he slowly walked back, and kneeled down next to where the boy was scrubbing.

"Here," he said, taking a scrub brush out of the bucket and setting it to the deck. "Let me help."

"You don't have to!" Kel said, astonished, seeing as this was probably the first time the Captain had said more than two words at a time to the boy. But Jim was already scrubbing, and Kel had once been told not to look a gift horse in the mouth. So there they were, Captain and cabin boy, cleaning the deck. The motions brought Jim back to when he had been considerably younger, nearly ten years ago. He'd always hated when Silver bossed him around, telling him what to do like he was the Captain, making him do it over when he hadn't done a good enough job. Those were certainly the days.

Mornings and dawns were a thing of the past out at Space, but as they approached the Imperial controlled star, the light from it shown brighter, and soon the rest of the crew woke, and started going about their business, largely ignoring the Captain on his knees, scrubbing. No one questioned anything Jim did these days, the crew knew when to keep their mouths shut. But as the day wore on, and Jim and Kel finally finished cleaning, he stood up and wiped his brow, just in time to hear Mr. Stenkraft shout "Imperial ship ahoy, sir!" Turning to look, Jim could see it, just a blip at first but steady drawing closer. Without any warning, Doppler appeared at Jim's shoulder, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Strange, Ships hardly ever approach one another. Why, Amelia told me the only time another ship had approached hers was when she received-"

"Emergency orders," Jim finished. When the ship draw close enough to anchor and allow the Imperial Envoy to cross over to the INF Silver, Jim walked over, eyebrows pulled together over his eyes. Something wasn't right.

"Captain James Pleiades Hawkins," the larger of the two men stated, not meeting his eyes, but rather staring over everyone's heads, into nothing. Jim saluted, as was standard procedure, and nodded as the man ordered 'at ease.'

"What's going on?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "This is-"

"Highly irregular!" Doppler interrupted, walking up to stand beside the Captain.

"Yes, well, highly irregular circumstances call for highly irregular procedure." The second man said, eying Doppler angrily. "We bring orders from the Command for the INF Silver to set new course to Squadron 82H Alpha." He withdrew a navy and yellow silk box from his coat pocket, which Jim knew contained a star map and navigation chip software. "While scanning the newly mapped Secton B4280 of the Hydrophan Galaxy, several Imperial ships were removed from our RDAR scans without authorization." Jim mentally tried to map out where the Hydrophan Galaxy was in his head, and realized that they weren't all that far from it, perhaps only seven or eight months away.

"So, you're saying they were hijacked and destroyed?" Doppler asked, and again, the shorter of the men shot him a nasty look. It was obvious they assumed they'd only be dealing with the Captain, not a nosy astrophysicist.

"Not entirely. Internal combustion chambers in all Imperial ships contain signal emitting electrodes that send coded messages back to Fleet Command when ships are destroyed, yet we've received no such signals. We have reason to believe they've been altered by a group of pirates with the technical know-how to disable the electrodes without destroying the ships. Which is a problem, I'm sure you realize."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jim finally spoke, arms crossed. "We're not exactly a warship, if you've noticed."

"Precisely," the taller man spoke, straightening out his lapels. "All light artillery ships in the Secton are being redirected to backup in Squadron 82H. Our intention is not to scare the pirates way, we merely want to lure them out. One caught attacking a ship, they can be tried in court and locked away."

"And what if they manage to attack one of the ships you send and get away with it? You'll just be handing them free Imperial parts to loot. If they've already overtaken several ships, what's to say they can't do it again?" Jim was unconvinced of this mission; it seemed to him like Fleet Command was grasping at straws against a foe that was too quick for them to analyze.

"If you wish to go against Command orders, you can take it up with her Majesty in court, Captain Hawkins," the shorter man said, with a slight smirk. Doppler looked at him sideways, and Jim just scowled. Snatching the box the man had offered him, he opened it and withdrew the orbital map. It was quite a remarkable piece of technology, Jim and Doppler had both worked at the academy to reverse engineer the original map to utilize the technology for future missions. Now any map could be synthesized to work with only its owner's touch.

With a series of twists and clicks, the map expanded around them, and Jim scanned the artificial cross grid to where the Silver needed to go. Scowling again, he narrowed his eyes at the two Imperial Commanders and sighed.

"Fine. Orders received. Now get off my ship." With another twist, the map receded, and he shoved it into his pocket, tossing the chip to Doppler to attach to the ships main navigational system. With another long glare, the men finally retreated, and the Imperial ship went off, no doubt to recruit more ships.

"What are you thinking about all of this?" Doppler asked, noticing the weary look Jim gave the map. Jim just shook his head, frowning.

"I don't know. I don't like it though. This is…highly irregular."


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Jim still didn't like this. Two months away from reaching their goal, he still didn't like it. Imperial Command hardly every handed out emergency orders, and they had been much too blasé about it. There was something Jim hadn't been told, but what could he do? He didn't fancy going to court to fight the order, and honestly, standing guard over Squadron 99J was a whole lot of nothing. Nothing bad ever happened in 99J. What else did they have to do?

The crew seemed rather excited about the order, though, and every time Jim passed a group standing idle, he could be sure they were talking about the assignment. What they might find. The acclaim they might gather for helping bring the pirates in. Jim was sure he even heard a few saying they admired the pirates, but he didn't think too much of it. Most of his crew was rather young.

But as the Silver drew ever closer to Squadron 82H Alpha, the strange feeling Jim fostered in the pit of his stomach only grew. The feeling only intensified when, only a month away, they intercepted the course of another light artillery ship, on their way to the very same Squadron.

"Aye! You wouldn't happen t'be headed in the same direction as we are, lad?" the older Captain called from the ship, Excelsior.

"Emergency orders?" Jim called back, over the wind.

"Aye!"

"Seems we are headed in the same direction!" The other captain laughed at this, and signaled his crew to drop anchor. Jim did the same, and as the two ships slowed to a crawl next to each other, the other captain, a man by the name of Lystte, hobbled aboard the Silver.

"I don't like this mission not one bit!" the older man said, slapping Jim on the back as he passed. "Strange conditions, they are! Used as bait! I'll be damned before me n'my crew are used as bait! What say you?"

"Uh, yeah, it's weird all right." Despite being visibly younger than Captain Lystte, Jim stood at least a foot taller than him, and actually had all four limbs. "Do you have any idea what could really be going on?"

"I say it's pirates, all right, but I'd bet m'good leg that it's not parts they're after." He smiled out of one side of his mouth, revealing more than one missing tooth. "I'm no idgit, boy. I know what they're after. Why else would they disable th'tracking device and signallin' mechanisms? If they jus' wanted ter loot the parts, why bother with all that? No, it's not scraps." Jim thought he knew what the old man was talking about, but was still a little fuzzy. Lystte looked at him, and shook his head. "What're they teachin' kids these days? They want Imperial ships, sonny, so's they can fly around and without bein' detected. Real sneaky. Y'get what I'm sayin'?"

"I…I think so. You think they're planning on infiltrating the Navy with our own ships?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm jus' an old Captain. But you listen ter me good, boy," he stabbed his finger up at Jim as he made his way back to his own ship, which was already raising anchor. "You be careful out there. Not everyone out there in them newly charted places is exactly as they seem."

* * *

"So, Jim," Doppler called up, wringing his hands. "Was there anything in that box they gave you that said what we're supposed to do when we actually…you know, arrive at Secton B4280? Because we've been floating here for a few days, and the crew is getting antsy…" He looked behind him to the eyes that watched from the shadows. Indeed, the crew was growing anxious, though none could work up the nerve to disturb the Captain when he was hiding up in the crow's nest. So, quite reluctantly, Doppler agreed, though there was no way he was climbing all the way up there to talk.

"Nope," Jim called down, without even looking at Doppler. "Just the map and the chip." Jim had noticed the crew, but he couldn't do anything about it. They were here, and that was as far as orders went. From what he could glean, they were all just supposed to wait and guard the surrounding systems and attempt to lure the pirates out. And the Silver wasn't alone; on especially clear days, several ships could be seen, tooling around the Etherium aimlessly, just as the Silver was doing, waiting for something, anything to happen. But the longer they all waited, the more on edge they became.

And Jim, already on edge from the orders, and then from what the old Captain had said, was a nervous wreck. Of course he was good at hiding it from the crew, which basically meant he was good at hiding FROM the crew. But while he seemingly calmly whittled away with that bronzed knife of his, his insides were in turmoil, his stomach in knots, his brain spinning, trying to think of what he might find here. What kind of pirates he might find.

His dreams had been getting weirder, as well. Now, instead of an enemy nation attacking his ship, it was clearly pirates, and in some dreams, it was Flint's crew, and they were only looting the ship. These, he knew were just nonsense dreams. They weren't as scary because he knew they weren't real; Flint couldn't come back from the dead! But every so often, he'd have another one of his old dreams, with the mystery attackers, and losing Evelyn, and he would wake up in a cold sweat. Thank God his daughter wasn't here with them now.

Whatever was going to happen, needed to happen fast. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

It was only two days later that, while looking at the map of the Squadron they were inhabiting, Jim happened to notice a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. He thought nothing of it at first, and went back to inspecting the map, but again his peripheral vision picked up movement, and his curiosity got the better of him. Taking out his spyglass, he trained it across the Etherium, where he knew the pinprick in the distance was another ship, the Leviathan. It took a moment to focus, but once the image was clear, he sprang into action. Vaulting over the crow's nest and catching a rope, he hit the deck hard and started running for the wheel.

"Mr. Upstart! Let all sails out immediately! Full power 72 degrees NE!" he shouted, turning the wheel hand over hand until the ship was turned almost all the way to the right. As soon as the sails were unfurled, the ship lurched forward, and with a burst of speed, Jim had to hang on to fight being blown back by the force.

"Jim! What's going on!?" Doppler shouted, rushing out of the galley.

"It's them, Doppler, the pirates! Attacking the Leviathan at NE! Get on the short wave radio and alert the surrounding ships!" Almost as soon as he'd given the order, Jim wondered why the Leviathan hadn't alerted any other shop via radio; surely they had no know they weren't the only ship out here?

"Aye Captain!" Delbert said, rushing off to follow orders. Nearly there, the enemy ship could be seen clearly now, and was much larger than Jim had initially thought. Nearly twice the size of the Leviathan, which was already slightly larger than the Silver, Jim hoped more reinforcements would be coming soon.

"Prepare cannons!" Jim shouted, handing the wheel off as soon as he could, and rushed below deck to the armaments. Several crew members followed, and as he tossed laser guns out to them, slapping magazines into them as he went, something at the back of his mind was telling him that there was something terribly wrong with the situation.

"Captain! I can't reach any of the other ships by radio!" Doppler called as Jim emerged, clicking his own magazine into place. "The signal, it's distorted in a way even I can't decipher!"

"Figure it out quick! We're not gonna have the manpower necessary to take out that behemoth alone!" The Silver was not far now, and as Jim looked to the mast of the enemy ship, already pummeling the Leviathan, something stopped him dead in his tracks. The flag, no, it couldn't be! It was pure coincidence, but…the flag the ship was flying wasn't that of a pirate ship.

The sheer size of the ship should have tipped him off; no pirate had a ship that big, it was simply too large to make a quick getaway! But he hadn't thought of it right away, but seeing the flag now, he knew. They definitely weren't dealing with pirates.

"Cannons at the ready!" he called, voice shaking only slightly (though he doubted anyone would notice) Holding up a hand, trying to keep it steady, the crew hung in silence and anticipation as they awaited orders.

…

"FIRE!" Jim called, and immediately the ship jerked violently as the laser cannons went off, one by one, hitting the enemy ship on the broad side, barely making a scratch. "Again!" he called, and again, not even a scratch. What was going on? They were equipped with high grade Navy lasers, there was nearly nothing in the known galaxies that could withstand it with such perfection. The ship was like nothing Jim had seen before.

But the fire was not unnoticed, and as soon as a third round was fired by the crew of the Silver, Several of the mounted lasers on the enemy ship swiveled to aim directly at its small adversary. A small moment of stillness was immediately followed by a blast the size of the all the Silver's cannons combined, as the ship pitched violently, sending Jim crashing against the railings.

"Damn!" he said through gritted teeth, trying to steady himself. "Take us closer to the deck! We'll be out of range of their cannons above them!" Trying to take aim as the ship jerkily rose, Jim fired the handheld phaser gun as the ball-baring joint that one of the smaller deck side lasers was mounted on, shattering it and sending the gun hurling over the edge. Bullseye. As the enemy cannons under them tried in vain to hit them, the Silver was barraged with fire from the deck lasers, but as Jim tried unsuccessfully to take out another, Doppler rushed on deck, trying to reach the Captain.

"Captain; our signal distortion is emanating from the enemy ship, it's jamming our signal!"

"Then unjam it!" Jim shouted, dodging a blast.

"I can't! It's on a frequency we don't even operate on; I'm not even sure how it's damaging our signal!"

"What!?" Just then, another huge blast rocked the ship; it seemed that one of the lower cannons was able to land a hit, and the bow of the Silver had taken extensive damage. "Take us higher! I want to see the bastards who are attacking us!"

As the Silver was finally level enough with the enemy deck to see the crew that was manning the lasers, Jim thought there was something eerily familiar about the aliens. Their suits, they were all the same, all uniform. Their coats, boots…their swords.

"Oh no." Jim stopped dead on the middle of the deck, jaw open as he realized what exactly he was looking at. His hunch was right. These definitely weren't pirates, this was a nation ship, with nation soldiers.

It was the ship from his nightmares.

"Jim! Jim, what are you doing!?" Doppler called, watching his Captain go motionless. He was staring wide eyes, doing nothing, as his ship tried in vain to make even a dent on this huge enemy. They were running out of ammo, and here he stood, not moving a muscle. "Jim!"

It wasn't Dr. Doppler's shouting that finally snapped Jim out of his stupor; no, it was the loud 'crack!' of the arm of the main mast, being splintered by a laser blast, and slowly falling to the deck. Just as he saw it start to decent, he looked down to see Doppler standing directly under it. He would be crushed, if Jim didn't act fast.

Jumping back into action, Jim tossed the phaser gun aside and dove for Doppler, knocking him out of the way just in time. Delbert fell and rolled across deck, landing hard on his side, but was largely unhurt; the same could not be said for Jim.

Another huge blast hit the Silver, this time taking out most of the stern, and just when the crew thought they were all done for, a bright light was pulsed from the enemy ship to the Leviathan, which seemed largely unharmed except for a strangely absent crew, and as the light swept over the deck and back, both ships seemed to vanish, though it was hard to tell since the pulsing light had momentarily blinded the crew of the Silver. Just like that, the badly damaged ship was left on it's own.

* * *

Author's note: I feel like I rushed into the action of this chapter; what do you think? If it seemed to rushed, I can rewrite it.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"W-….what do we do?"

The crew looked expectantly at Doppler, standing around, burnt, injured, confused as to who to follow now that their Captain was pinned, seemingly unconscious to the deck. The ship was in a state of ruin, and in the calm after the storm, whistles and alarms could be heard starting to go off, as the ships processes systematically started to fail. Smoke rose from the bow, and the engine could be heard sputtering out its last few breaths. If they were going to save themselves from a slow death on a lifeless ship, they'd have to act fast.

"I…we need to land the ship," Doppler said, looking around. It was almost an unspoken rule that he was Jim's first mate, but it wasn't like Doppler actually knew how to fly the ship. The crew stood idle for a moment more, and the old astrophysicist's eyebrows pulled together.

"You heard me! We've got to find a planet to land on! You," he stabbed a finger at a short squat alien with a pig nose. "See how much life we can still get out of the engine. You," he pointed at another, "go see which of the sails is still usable, and, uh…use it. And the rest of you, help me get this off of the Captain!" As the crew he'd appointed scuttled off uncertainly, the rest helped Doppler attempt to roll the bit of mask pinning Jim to the deck off of him. Just from looking, Doppler could tell his arm was crushed, no doubt about it. Absolutely shattered. And the strange way his chest rose and fell as he breathed indicated that a few of his ribs on that side might have been crushed as well, he needed to be patched up, and quick.

"You were always reckless to the point of hurting yourself," Doppler said quietly, thinking about how Jim had saved him from getting crushed. That could be him, he thought, cringing slightly, or worse! They had to get patched up soon.

"Engines aren't in good shape, Cap-er, I mean, Doctor," the pig nosed crewman said, stuttering slightly. "Not much life left in 'em."

"Then we'll have to land quickly," Doppler raced over to the navigation panels and clicked a few of the switches. Bringing up the ship's general surroundings on the holoprojector, Doppler searched for a planet within close proximity. "Here! The newly colonized planet of Lumria. Set course for 82 degrees SW."

"Yes sir!" The ship soon sputtered off in the direction of the small planet of Lumria, very recently claimed for the Imperial Empire. Trying the short wave once more, Doppler found that their signal was unjammed, and soon made contact with the small Imperial base on the southern hemisphere of the planet. Largely uncharted, Lumria only had three small ports so far, and in the process of trying to land the ship, Doppler and the crew, nervous and unfocused from the strange attack, managed to completely destroy one of the docks. Finally bringing the ship down safely, and while the crew started trying to carry their Captain down and out, Doppler went to speak with the rather angry mechanic that came out to greet them.

He was a short man with a receding hairline, and was covered in grease. He was pissed when he saw the crushed dock, but after Doppler assured him that the Navy would reimburse him, he calmed down enough to hear their story. As Doppler spoke, his eyes drifted over to the Silver, and he shook his head.

"This takes weeks to fixed," he said, his accent thick and his English broken. "And much money. Parts do not grow from fishes and stones." Pausing to try and decipher the strange colloquialism, the Doctor withdrew a small badge case from his breast pocket.

"Like I said, my goo man, the Imperial Navy will reimburse you, ten fold I'm sure. But right now, we have a bit of a pressing matter. Our Captain, you see, was injured. Fairly badly. We need him to see a medical professional right away." The mechanic grunted and pointed in the direction of a small stead of buildings. They were strange, Delbert had never seen buildings like them before; made of the same sort of peat that seemed to permeate the soil of the planet, but only more solid.

"Healer through town. Hard miss. You have be deaf and well as dumb to miss."

"Thank you, Mister…?"

"Agre. Call Mister Agre." Was the man's only reply, and as Doppler and a few of the crewmen carried Jim down the hill towards the town, Mr. Agre got to work repairing the extensive damage to the INF Silver.

* * *

"James…"

"Huh?"

"James, what are you doing?"

"What am I…what are you doing? Who are you?"

"James, you're so stupid sometimes."

"Hey! Who're you calling stupid? And don't call me James!"

"It'll all be clear soon, James. They're both safe, for now…"

"What? Both? Who's safe? Evelyn!?" Jim couldn't see anything, he was just listening to this echoing voice grow fainter and fainter, as it kept repeating that 'they are both safe, for now', whatever that meant. What was it talking about? How did it now Evelyn was safe? And who was the other person? His Mother? He shouted for the voice to explain itself, but he got no answer. No answer. No answer…

"AAHH! Holy mother of-Ahhhh!" Pain seared through his arm as he felt the bones crack into place. His world was still bathed in black, but only until he realized he was squeezing his eyes shut. Opening them, lights and colors popped in front of his vision as another pain shot through his arm, and another. "Stop! Holy- Ouch! What is…Ahhh!" Focusing on the source of the pain, he saw a very large and very foul-faced woman pressing down on his arm, which looked like it was bent the wrong way in three different places. With another snap, another bone was set back in place, and Jim had to bite his tongue from screaming.

"Are you sure this is the…uh, best way to go about setting his arm?" Jim heard Doppler ask meekly, though he couldn't see him.

"Yeah. I do good job broken bones. I fix all bones. All bones broke, then I fix." The woman said, contorting her chubby face into what must have been a smile. "Now, I fix rabooskas." Pressing down on Jim's chest with both hands, and it seemed like all her weight was baring down on him, keeping him from even squeaking, until three painful snaps later, when she let up on the pressure. "There, set rabooskas."

"Are…are you tryin'a KILL me, lady!?" Jim rasped, attempting to prop himself up on his good elbow.

"No; Japnecks do good work of for that." She replied, grimace-smiling again.

"…What?" Before she had a chance to answer, Doppler was taking up Jim's field of vision, looking in his eyes, checking his pulse, asking if he was alright.

"Jim, what were you thinking?" he asked, sitting back and crossing his arms. "You could have killed yourself!"

"Yeah, well, it was either you or me." He replied, wincing as his injured right arm shifted slightly.

"No for moving," the woman said, gingerly picking his arm up and wrapping it in a sling. "Heal right, no for moving arm. Here." She leaned over and tied the sling behind his neck. Looking down at his poor damaged arm, it looked pathetically limp, and he knew he wouldn't be doing anything with it for a very long time. Even if he could, his damn ribs were making it painful to breath.

"I think I was less important to the ship than you are, Captain," Doppler said, standing.

"Speaking of which, what happened to the Silver, where are we?" Jim had barely had time to contemplate the fact that he was not dead when he woke up, given the fact that he was pretty sure this woman had been trying to kill him. But now that he had time to calm down and actually think, he had absolutely no idea where he was, or what had happened. "Did…did we get shot out of the sky or something?"

"Ah, well, yes, is a way." Doppler shifted uncomfortably, and extended a hand to help Jim up. "If you can walk, I'll tell you on the way back to the mechanics. It's a…strange story." With some difficulty, and having to lean on Doppler quite a bit, Jim made it outside and halfway up the hill, before having to take a break. In that time, Doppler recounted the strange occurrences; the weird pulsing, blinding light, strange disappearance of both ships, the absent crew of the Leviathan. Jim listened quietly, and as they pressed on, his expression grew more apprehensive.

"So, they just disappeared? Just like that?" he asked, puzzled. "That's not possible; well, I mean, it was, for Flint. But the portal is destroyed. They couldn't have the same sort of technology, could they?"

"I don't know. All I know is what we saw, and after, the ship was in such bad shape, we had to make an emergency landing here."

"Where is 'here'?" Jim looked around; this was like no other planet he'd been to before. The plants around them were all a light brownish gray color, and there didn't seem to be a dominant sun anywhere in the sky. Just clusters of dim stars, which cast the whole place in a strange twilight-like dimness.

"Lumria; it was the nearest planet with an Imperial port we could land at," Doppler said as they finally returned to the Silver. Mr. Agre and a few of his associates were already appraising the damage done to the ship, and when he saw the dog man and the injured man approaching, he jumped down and wiping his hands on his already-dirty overalls.

"Ya, pretty good amount a lot of damage. Take month. Maybe more." He barked. Jim wondered what was up with their strange accents.

"One of your months, or an Imperial month?" Doppler asked.

"Oh; yeah, forgot, big nation use small month. 70 and two days are like month." Well, that certainly set them back a while. Three and a half months they'd be stuck here, without any working long distance radio…there would be no way to contact the Imperial Fleet and alert them as to what had happened.

"Ah, then, very well. I suppose nothing can be done for it." Doppler said. Jim glanced over at the Silver; Delbert had been right, it was in terrible shape. It was a wonder it sailed here at all. "I guess we'll need accommodations for the crew while and ourselves while we wait out the construction."

"Mmm. I think I help there," Mr. Agre grunted, though a smirked just a bit. "For price."

"I told you, the Imperial Navy will-"

"What's your price?" Jim interrupted, speaking for the first time to this little man. Mr. Agre met his eyes and squinted up at him.

"What got you?" he said. Initially, Jim didn't really understand what he meant by that statement, but after a moment of thinking on it, he realized the native had meant to say 'What you got'. Fishing around in his pockets, all he found was his spyglass and the map, though the later would only open at his touch. Looking expectantly at Doppler, he nudged the older man in the shoulder, to which Doppler reluctantly removed his cufflinks and the golden buttons on the front of his vest. Offering those and the spyglass to Mr. Agre, he appraised the bits for a moment, and then waved them forward. "Followed." He commanded.

He led them around the back of the mechanic shop, which was built of the same peat like material as the other buildings, but had a large, clumsily painted Imperial Emblem splashed across the front of it. Behind it, though, hid a fairly large housing complex, and when Mr. Agre wrapped on the door, a higher pitched voice could be heard from inside. Jim didn't understand what it was saying, it was speaking in what he guessed was their native language. After a few back and forth exchanges, the door opened a crack, and a sliver of a pale face could be seen, peering out at them.

More banter was exchanged, and then Mr. Agre turned to Jim and Doppler and spoke to them again in broken English.

"I have, uh…strings and knots in all peoples homes. I very not can say in this way to spoke-"

"Oh, let me!" The voice from behind the door spoke in a very light accent, Jim could barely hear it, and the English it spoke was near perfect. The door opened a bit more, and a girl poked her head out, glaring at everyone standing at the door step, her Father included. "My Father means that to say he has connections to many people in town. He's very influential. For the price he gave you, he will set you and your crew for up at the inn. He says he likes you. You took on the Japnecks without fear. He calls it bravery. I call it stupidity."

The girl in question, who had the audacity to taunt the Captain of a ship who had just been crushed by a mast, had long blonde hair tied up in a very messy pony tail, and her cheeks were smudged with ship grease. Her eyes, like every other resident of the planet, were a dull gray. As Jim glared at her, she took the lull in conversation to look both him and Doppler up and down, and frowned.

"Not really the 'Imperial Ideal' I see. Why is it that our sons are barred from Academy acceptance for lacking in this of the 'Ideal', yet they have accommodated you two?"

"Excuse me?" Jim said, taking a step forward. "Do you want to come out here and say that to me, or are you just gonna hide behind the door all day?"

"I would love to," she replied, narrowing her eyes before stepping out and shutting the door behind her. Dressed in a pair of oil stained overalls like her Father, who was watching the exchange with interest, it wasn't immediately apparent that there was anything wrong with the girl who dared backtalk an Imperial Captain. "If it were me making decisions, I would not waste my time helping the likes of you. Scrawny, stupid, and ugly. Oh, how hypocrisy tastes so bitter in my mouth!" she spat, similarly taking a step forward, scowling up at Jim.

If she had been anything but a girl too short to even reach his shoulder, Jim was sure he would have socked her for that; no one called him stupid. No one. But seeing as her Father was offering them a place to stay, and seeing as Jim had a serious problem hitting women, all he could do was grit his teeth and force himself to back off.

"I'll have none of this nonsense!" Doppler interjected, shoving between the two of them and laying a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Jim, back off."

"She started it!" he said, and even he had to admit, it sounded pathetic. The girl just smirked. Finally speaking up, her father said something to her slowly in their language, and her smile faded. She attempted to protest, but he cut her off.

"Akmra is to for leading you to inn, and for giving my word for inn keep. They would for not trusting Imperials there, if not for me."

"Father-" she protested, but he held up a hand to silence her.

"Go now. Getting dark soon. Will be dark very for long time for you Imperials. Best for to go now." After giving his daughter one last stern glance, Mr. Agre left to continue working on the Silver, and Akmra was left with Jim and Doppler. Shooting Jim a nasty glance, she tossed her head and started down the hill towards the town.

"Fine. Then you will follow me." Was all she said. They walked in silence for a while, Jim going slower and having to stop every now and then. Before the silence became unbearable, Doppler cleared his throat.

"So, Akmra, I see you've grasped English much better than your Father," he said, somewhat awkwardly. She glanced behind her, and grunted.

"Yes, it is easy to learn when you're young. Though why the Empire chose such a complicated language as their official language is very past for me. Ah," she paused, thinking, "I mean, beyond me. Your sayings are very stupid." This girl was blunt, Doppler had to give her that. But as they walked, Jim noticed something, in the dim light, he saw a bit of fading starlight catch on what seemed to be a silver ribbon running along her right leg. Both overall pantlegs were rolled to the knee, and when he looked a little harder, he realized that her whole right shin was made of metal.

"What happened to your foot?" he asked, which caused her to stop in her tracks for only a moment. Without looking back at Jim, she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I was five when Lumria was colonized. Our ships fought back, though we stood no chance against Imperial war ships. Colonization was inescapable." She paused again, and then started to recite the beginning of the Imperial Pledge. "For the Glory of the Empire, my leg was lost in firefight."

That did the trick; for the rest of the walk into town, no one said a word. And when they reached the inn, Akmra held the door open for them, only to slap it closed behind them. Slightly stunned, Doppler straightened his glasses on his nose.

"Well, wasn't she…charming."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"Who the hell does she think she is?" Jim said to himself, pacing around his room. That stupid little…it infuriated him that she said he wasn't good enough to be in the Imperial Navy! What did she know? He couldn't even feel sorry for her for losing her leg, not when she acted like that. "Does she think she's the only one who's ever lost something? What makes her think she has a right to be so nasty!?" His steps were slow, seeing as it still hurt to breath, but soon even just pacing took the breath out of him, and he was forced to lay down.

The only good thing about the Silver taking three whole months to repair was that, by the time she was Space ready, Jim's arm would at least be mostly healed. Enough for him to get by without a ton of pain, anyway. It was especially debilitating for him, seeing as his left hand was his dominant hand. He really couldn't do anything with his right hand now that his left was out of commission.

Doppler had gone back to the ship to retrieve some of his more expensive astronomical devices, mumbling something about untrustworthy workers, and to inform the rest of the crew, who seemed to still be hanging around the Silver uncertainly, leaving Jim stuck in his room, since he couldn't very well climb down the stairs to the ground floor on his own. Not that he wanted to. Barely any of the people here spoke English, and it was so hard to understand the ones who did. And the Lumrian population seemed to be fond of using colorful colloquialisms that didn't translate very well in English, which just made matters that much more confusing.

Pulling the curtains back, Jim watched as the sky outside became dimmer and dimmer, until everything outside of his window became pitch black; Mr. Agre wasn't kidding when he said it got really dark. And the strangest thing was, there were no street lamps or lights anywhere outside. A few windows of nearby houses were lit up, but only dimly. How did anyone see on this planet?

Getting lost in his thoughts for a minute, Jim jumped when there was a knock at his door, and winced as his cracked ribs started to hurt again. "What is it?" he called, and Dr. Doppler stuck his head in.

"Dreadfully dark out there," he commented, coming in and closing the door behind him. "Couldn't see a thing! It's a wonder the Lumrians don't trip up all over themselves at night, which I hear is nearly three times as long as nights back on Montressor." Jim just gave him a blank stare, and the Doctor pulled something from his vest. "Well, as you know I was back at the Silver, gathering up a few of my things before I could find any of it…ahem, missing. And, I thought you might like to keep this here with you." He handed Jim a framed picture, the one the young Captain always kept on his nightstand. In it, two pictures overlapped one another; one of Jim and Maya, right after they'd first been married, and one of Evelyn, just after she was born. Maya had died before a picture was taken with both her and her daughter, but Jim hated to put them in separate frames.

"Thank you," he said, taking the picture and staring at it. He didn't say anything, and after a while, Doppler looked around awkwardly before excusing himself. With the door shut, Jim set the picture on the nightstand, but continued to look at it; with all of the trouble that had been happening for the past few months, and for all his worrying about his orders from Command, he hadn't thought much about Evelyn or Maya. He'd been too busy being anxious, but now that they were marooned on the planet, he would have plenty of time to catch up, and he immediately started to wonder how Sarah and Evelyn were doing back home. It would be approaching Evelyn's second birthday soon.

* * *

"**I can't believe you told them we'd have all of this done in a month!" **Juek grumbled, inspecting the massive hole blown through the bow of the ship. **"Rushing a job like this, it will have consequences."**

"**Yes, well, we can do it," **Mr. Herche Agre grunted, rigging the half-unstable main mast with a bully system. **"Take too long and the Navy will be on our asses about 'inefficiency' again. The last thing I want is all that paperwork!"**

"**You can't repair a ship in a day, Herche. If we rush too much, the thing won't fly right, and we'll still have those assholes on us!" **Several of the men on board nodded at this, all listening in and waiting for the appropriate time to chime in with their thoughts. But before any man had a chance to reply, Herche's troublesome daughter swung herself up on deck, sweeping strands of hair out of her face.

"**Let the ship break down in the middle of Space, what do we care?" **she said, not waiting for her father and the first man to finish speaking their minds, as was custom. **"Not our problem that they came sticking their noses in where they don't belong."**

"**Akmra!" **her Father chided, scowling at his daughter's brashness. **"You are mistaking bravery for stupidity, when it is you who needs to take her head out of the tree trunk."**

"**Look at this hunk of junk, Father! Only a fool lingers in battle long enough to sustain this sort of damage." **The girl looked the ship up and down as she walked the length of the deck, eyes never staying on one blast mark for more than a moment.

"**Loyalty, Akmra. These men have great loyalty to their nation, and so should you."**

"**Loyalty!? After everything they've done? Surely you can't be serious!" **She spun around to face her father, eyes absolutely glowing in the extreme darkness of Lumrian night. **"You, of all men, to speak of loyalty to such a nation? This makes me laugh more like a bird than a fish! See Father, now, see what they've taken from you! See what you do with your hands now! Fixing Imperial ships? That was not what you were born to do!"**

"**I was born,"** Herche started, walking over to his daughter, **"To serve The Purpose, as were you. Speaking so brazenly against the destiny The Purpose has laid out for our kind is something I will not tolerate. I cannot stop you from lingering on the ship, time and time again has proven your nosiness is a trait that cannot be curbed. But I will not hear another word about the matter from you."**

"**You speak of The Purpose, yet you know nothing of it! Did The Purpose mean for me to be crippled? Look at how I must suffer, for what they did-"**

"**Akmra!" **The night rung out with Herche's voice, deep and commanding as he shouted for his daughter's silence. She pressed her lips together, refusing to stop glaring at the man who was trying so desperately to keep her silenced.

"Have it your way," she finally said, using the English she knew her Father had trouble understanding. Turning on her heel, she went to leave. "For sense means nothing to The Purpose when it has a crazy old man for to sing its will." Swinging herself over the edge of the stern, she landed on the dock without so much as a tap, and made her way into town.

* * *

Author's note Short chapter; I just wanted to get a bit about Akmra and her Father out there, and show a little bit of the inner turmoil the Lumrians have to face. More in expository form coming in later chapters.

Also, the bolded dialogue is the natives speaking their own language. That's why is sounds so fluent in bold, but horribly choppy in normal typeface :)

Reviews are appreciated!


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

"Finally, able to walk outside without being bathed in darkness! I really don't know how the Lumrians handle all this night." Doppler glanced sideways at Jim, who was leaning heavily on the open doorframe of the inn, holding his side. His ribs were especially sore today, and just walking down the stairs was a challenge. "Are you sure you want to come with me, Jim? It's not exactly an easy walk to the docks."

"I want to check out the Silver, for myself," he said, shoving off of the doorframe and half-hobbling over. "I haven't gotten a proper look at it since I was out. I want to see the kind of adversary we're up against, what kind of damage they can cause."

"Suit yourself," Doppler sighed, letting Jim take his shoulder as he walked, propping him up. It took twice as long with Jim, but Doppler knew that once his mind was set to something, there wasn't much he could do to sway him. As the approached, they could already hear the hum of industrial saws and the pounding of sledge hammers.

"Mr. Agre," he called up, seeing the head mechanic's balding head bobbing around up o deck. "How go the repairs?" Looking over the ledge at them, Herche merely grunted. "Well, I suppose that means they're going well? Would you like to go up, Jim?" Looking over, Doppler realized Jim wasn't paying attention to him.

Jim could hear her voice; it wasn't speaking English, but he knew it was here. He would be able to pick out that insufferable whine anywhere. She was up on deck, traipsing around on his ship!

"The nerve," he said under his breath. Before his body had a chance to react to the pain, Jim grabbed onto one of the ropes attached to the many pulley systems that spider-webbed their way around the ship's carcass. Pulling himself up and over the edge, his feet landed heavily on deck, and he made his way over to where she stood, hands covered in oil and a strange looking wrench in one. "I want you out of here!" he said as he approached, scowl thick as makeup on his face. The girl, who had a name Jim couldn't possibly remember, merely glanced at him, before going back to her conversation with the hairy, pot-bellied man repairing a section of floorboards. How dare she!

"Jim!" Doppler called, clumsily trying to hoist himself up after the injured man, but again he was ignored.

"This is my ship, I say who can and can't work on it!" he said, moving closer and spinning her around by her shoulder to face him. Shock and disgust blossomed across her features, and before Jim could issue another order to her, her hand flew out and struck him, open-palmed, in the face.

"Don't touch me!" she said, more astonished than angry. "Who do you think you are!?"

"Who do You think YOU are!?" Jim spat back, raising his good hand to his cheek, hot from the slap as well as indignation. "This is my ship! How dare you slap me on my own ship!"

"How dare you touch me on my own planet!" she retorted, taking a step back. "I realize you Imperials have diminished intelligence from such long bouts of allegiance, but transgressions such as these are unforgivable!"

"You slapped me!"

"Out of retaliation! You started it!"

"You started it, when you set foot on my ship!"

"I'm helping with the repairs on your miserable dingy! You should be grateful!"

"Well, I'm not!"

"Stupid pig!"

"Hey!" Both man and woman's heads snapped up at Herche roared for a ceasefire. "What is meaning here? Why for you to yell!?" Immediately, the girl took another step away.

"He has touched me without permission!" she replied, scowling. The mechanic looked from Jim to his daughter, before replying in his own tongue. "That is no excuse!" she retorted to whatever he had said, and again, he spoke back in their own language. Her face fell from anger to astonishment. "Again! Again you side with them! Why!?"

"Akmra, leave now. He has for to asked you leaved. Is his ship for to ask. Go." He said, motioning her back to the shop. Without looking up at Jim, she immediately dropped the wrench, which fell to the floor and landed loudly, and slowly made her way to the edge of the deck. As she walked, Jim could hear the soft padding of her left foot, and the metallic clank of her right. Without hesitation, she dropped off the edge, only to reappear a moment later on the dock, walking towards the large mechanic shop. Turning back to the captain, Mr. Agre let out a heavy breath. "She not old. Not weathered against for wind." Jim said nothing, just turned and reached out to lean his good arm on the edge of the railing. He'd ignored the pain his ribs had been giving him before, but now that he wasn't yelling or getting slapped, it had a chance to catch back up with him.

"Jim, you really need to get your temper in check," Doppler said, coming to stand beside him after clumsily flopping over the side of the deck.

"It's that girl! She can't just leave her nose out of our business! I mean, who slaps someone without any provocation!?"

"Jim, it's Lumrian custom not to make physical contact without prior permission, even among friends. You grabbed her shoulder, which is just about as rude as calling someone a pig…which she did call you…so.." Doppler stopped to think for a moment, and Jim just stared at him.

"It would have been nice to know that, you know, BEFORE this all happened!" Jim said, voice getting louder towards the end of the statement.

"Well, I would have warned you, had you not stormed up onto the deck like that! Really Jim, I'm an old man, do you really expect me to keep pace with you?" Jim ran his hand through his hair and then brought it down to the railing, pounding his fist down.

"If that she never shows her face on this ship again, it will be too soon!" he said.

"Honestly, I have a hard time understanding why you have fostered such a dislike for her, in such a short amount of time." Doppler pushing his glasses up farther on his nose, and for the first time, Jim noticed one of the lenses was cracked. "You've met her all of two times, and yet you're already like cats and…uh, well, I was going to say dogs, but I'm sure you see why that analogy doesn't work here-"

"You heard her the other day. She thinks we're idiots; she thinks the whole Empire is stupid!" He bit down hard and tried not to grind his teeth at the thought. Doppler's expression softened a bit, and he went to rest a hand on Jim's shoulder.

"Can you blame her?" he said quietly, and while Jim's immediate reaction was to shoot Doppler a long of surprise, the older man raised a hand. "Listen Jim; she lost part of her leg at a very young age because of the struggle between colonization and keeping their autonomy. Of course she would see the Empire in a negative light."

"That's no excuse to insult it!" Jim spat. "Things happen, and you just have to deal! You don't see me going around….spitting at happy couples….just because they get to be happy and I don't doesn't mean I have to ruin it for them!" Doppler could see there would be no reasoning with Jim like this, and decided to drop the matter. Sulking was sometimes the only thing Jim really wanted to do; some things never changed. But Doppler was not blind, and he had noticed something very important; this was one of the first times since he'd left Evelyn on Montressor, or even since Maya died, that he saw that tiny spark of light in his eyes.

So even if it was for hating the mechanic's daughter, at least it was something.

* * *

"**I can see why they would stay shut in at night, but from what I hear, one night of ours is like three of theirs. Boredom must bite at their ankles at every hand of the clock." **Bruskt scratched his chin under his beard as he and Juek walked across the dock, towards the ship they'd spent all week repairing. It was the height of the darkness, and even Herche and the rest of the mechanics had called it a night, but the two youngest members of the staff had got it into their heads that they would do a bit more exploring around the wreckage of the ship. Under Mr. Agre's gaze, they hadn't been able to snoop much, but now that he was at his home, presumably sleeping, they could do as they pleased.

"**They spent three months at space just to get here,"** Juek replied, **"They must be used to boredom."**

"**Strange people. I can't believe they took on the Japnecks-" ** Just as Bruskt was about to haul himself up with one of the pulley ropes, the quiet patter of inorganic steps caught their attention, and both men spun around, only to be faced with Agre's daughter. **"Akmra! You scared the starlights from me!"**

"**What are you doing?" **she asked, curious, maybe a little too much for her own good. Juek stepped forward and frowned.

"**None of your business. Go home, Akmra. We were speaking."**

"**And now WE are speaking."** She replied, pulling her hair back, which had been sitting loose at her shoulders, and tying it back. **"Tell me, are you sneaking aboard to snoop? Oh, don't look so surprised, I saw the way my father would reprimand you two." **She gave a devious smile, which went undetected by normal eyes but of course Juek and Bruskt saw.

"**You will tell your Father," **he said slowly, narrowing his eyes, but Akmra just laughed at this.

"**You don't think I want to look through their things as well? Eyes and noses are not plainer, Juek. Come on, no one will be telling my Father tonight." **Pushing past the two men, she took hold of the rope and started climbing, and vaulted over the side railing. Juek and Bruskt weren't far behind, and as they walked quietly around the deck, checking nooks and crannies for anything interesting, one got the feeling that there was a sense of familiarity, or at the very least comradery between the three. The nature of their jokes implied that this was not a new experience for the three of them.

"**I suppose times never change, do they Akmra?" **Bruskt said, checking the Stateroom door. **"Remember in Holiary, when we would…hold your ships, look!" **Pushing the door and trying the handle, Bruskt managed to get the stateroom door open, and all three young mechanics poked their heads in. The inside was not at damaged as the rest of the ship, but things were thrown from the wall, and the desk on the far side of the room was tipped over, no doubt sent flying by the impact of the blasts. Papers lined the floor.

**Watch your step, there's broken glass. Why you insist on going barefoot, Akmra, I'll never understand." **Juek said, going to look through the desk drawers. Bruskt followed, and while they rummaged, Akmra walked slowly along the wall, looking at pictures and documents that hung there, picking up a few frames that had been knocked off and inspecting them. Most bore the names "James" and "Delbert", and were certificates for various forms of navy training, academy graduation, Doctorates, Captainship, ect. There was a picture of an older woman, as well, who was holding a small boy and smiling at the camera; Jim and his Mother she guessed. Another picture showed the dog-faced fellow, accompanies by a tall feline woman and four young children, and studying the face of the woman, Akmra wondered how the bumbling dog man had such a beautiful wife.

"**Look! Come see what we found!"** the two boys called to Akmra and, watching for broken glass, she carefully walked over, and peered at the small device Juek held in his hand. **"I think it's one of those hollowdisks. I'm not sure how Imperials get them to work, though."**

"**Let me see." **Taking the device, the girl turned it over in her hands a few times, noticing the various dials and settings the ting displayed. One of them had to turn the device on; picking at random, she pressed a small grey button, and instantly, two small figures were projected into their air in front of their faces.

It took a moment to realize what she was looking at, but suddenly, Akmra recognized the face of the abhorrent Captain. It was hard to tell it was him, since he looked so happy and at ease here, when in actuality she hadn't seen him pull any expression besides grimaces and scowls since he got here. But beside him stood a dark skinner woman with the most wild hair any of them had ever seen; she was quite the opposite of the common Lumrian woman, who were typically pale with long, straight hair. She had a round face, which was absolutely beautiful, and while she was dressed in a long white gown, the Captain was dressed in Imperial blue. They were looking at a wedding hologram.

"**Do you think this is that scrawny Captain and his wife?" **Bruskt asked. Juek rolled his eyes and held up a hand, to which Bruskt nodded. Shoving his friend playfully, he took the disk from Akmra and looked closer.

"**Of course it's him; but this can't be his wife. Look at her! I've never seen a woman like that! No way could he have married her!"**

"**But she's wearing white, and he's in Imperial uniform. Isn't that what Imperials do when they are married?" **While the two boys discussed how such a wimp of a guy could have gotten a beauty like her, Akmra just stood, looking the hologram over. It was one of those moving pictures, looped endlessly and seamlessly, and as she watched, The Captain would turn from the camera momentarily to stare at his bride, and she would meet his gaze, face absolutely brimming with happiness. They looked wonderful together.

So the question was, why was he so sour all the time, when he had such a lovely wife to go home to?


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Nights were strange things here on Lumria. Jim thought he'd never get used to them. It didn't help that his sleeping pattern was already nonexistent, but now it was just going haywire; his brain didn't know when to sleep and when to wake anymore. He would be hit by bought of drowsiness in the dim lighting of what was considered day, and then he would wake up only a few hours into the night, doomed to roam through the inn restlessly until the intense darkness was lifted. There was no way any of Jim's crew could venture out in the dark; it was so thick, it could have choked a man.

Jim did notice something a little unusual, though. Despite the darkness, voices could be heard outside his window, even in the dead of darkness. People were conversing out on the streets, and it didn't matter that he couldn't understand them, all he knew was that somehow, they weren't getting caught up in the darkness.

Doppler usually knew things like this, but the Doctor was spending more and more time lately supervising the reconstruction of the Silver, seeing as Jim didn't trust himself not to break into a fight with that infuriating girl. What was her name again? Acorn? It was something stupid, he was sure. Everything about her was absolutely stupid. There weren't a lot of locals who visited the inn that could speak English fluently enough for Jim to ask how they could see in the dark, like they obviously were, so until he could catch Dopper and ask him, he would just have to go on wondering.

And whether it was lucky or unlucky, Jim wouldn't have to wonder for long. It just so happened that one of the days he actually did go see the Silver (a certain someone was miraculously absent) he was stuck walking back to the inn just as it was getting dark, and when it got dark on Lumria, it got dark FAST. Before he was even down the hill, he could barly see his hands in front of his own face.

"Fantastic," he mumbled to himself, taking what he thought was the right turn, and then the next…and another…and then a straightaway, but after he was forced to turn right, which he didn't quite remember, and then the ground seemed to be covered in undergrowth, and the road was gone, and before he knew it, he was lost. Smashing into two trees and tripping multiple times, by the time he decided to stop, he was too far away from the town to hear anything. Jim was lost, and in darkness like this, it was doubtful he would find his way back unaided.

That didn't mean he wouldn't try. Attempting to track the stars overhead to locate North, he started in what he thought was the right direction, but as the trees around him grew denser, the patches of sky above him shrunk, until he couldn't see the stars for the leaves.

"Damn it!" he swore, shoving what seemed to be a tall hedge out of the way. "Damn! Where in the hell…? Jeez!" His good arm was being cut up by the sharp twigs he attempted to brush past, and while his ribs were no longer keeping him from breathing correctly, they were still sore as hell, and after a few more minutes of semi-panicked frustration, he decided the effort was futile. He was only getting himself more lost. "I'll just have to wait till it gets light again. Damn!" As he slapped his palm against her face and sighed, he thought he heard slight movement from the direction he had just come from.

Becoming still instantly, Jim tried to listen for any other sounds, but it was eerily silent now. Nothing moved. Nothing made sound. Even the wind was silent, and just as he was about to turn around and try to squint into the darkness, a voice made him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Typical; Captain is lost like a pig without its mother, and I am the one tasked with your rescue." Rustling just to his right alerted him just in time to the girl's presence, and as she stepped out from hiding, he stumbled backwards, tripping over something, and falling to the ground painfully.

"Holy-!" he shouted as he fell, startled by Akmra, who looked on with a bemused expression. True, Jim had been spooked by her near silent approach and sudden appearance, but that wasn't entirely the cause for his curt alarm. No, what had really got him was her eyes. No longer their usual gray, they glowed a pale purple, almost lavender, and illuminated her face, casting her shoulders and everything below her neck in deep, fractured shadows. "What…what…!?"

"I'm guessing you have not been caught in night before like this. You seem surprised, I wonder why?" She smirked. "Could it be my clothing? My hair?"

"Your eyes!" he said, finally getting to his feet, staring openly at her face. "What-?"

"We live on a dark planet," she started, folding her arms. "Even the day is dark. You do not honestly think we let the night keep us from performing our necessary duties? Just because your species has not developed luminescent properties does not mean that no species has." Looking around for a moment, Akmra got a feel for exactly where they were. She had to hand it to the Captain; he did have a way with getting himself lost. They were nearly two miles from town! "We are quite a ways away. If we are to return soon, we had better get moving." Turning quickly, she hopped back through the dense forest and started off. Jim, still a bit shocked, was slow to follow.

"Wait!" he called, shoving his way after her, somewhat angrily. "Wait! Jeez! Hey!" He was about to reach out and grab her shoulder again, but at the very last moment, he remembered what Doppler had told him about the Lumrians and physical contact, and drew his hand back. He didn't want her to leave him behind to dig himself deeper into the forest. The action did not go unnoticed.

"Smart choice, Imperial clod," she said smirking back at him. Jim's fists clenched at this, but he said nothing about the comment. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and proceeded to voice his query.

"You're not Human, are you?" he said, slowly, as if thinking over the words as they left his mouth. He saw her face turn slightly, just enough for her to look at him through her peripheral vision. Her answer took more time than he thought was necessary.

"No." she said simply. "I can see why you might have assumed that we were of the same species. Our appearances are very much similar. It is typical of Imperials to find their own similarities in of others." There was silence for a moment. "It is suspected that we share ancestors. You and I have come from the same root, yet we grow on different branches, and bare different fruit. Actually, I would say your branch only bares flowers; pretty on the outside, but very useless over all." He could practically hear the giggle in her voice. She was enjoying this; she knew he would not dare insult her back, seeing as she was the only one who was willing to lead him back. And then…there was that…

"Why are you even helping me, if you hate me so much?" he asked, loathing seeping through his voice. "If you despise me so much, why not let me wander and get lost? You'd never have to see my face again."

"My Father told me to fetch you; do not disillusion yourself. If it were only I, believe that I would have let you wander."

"Your Father, huh? You and the old man don't seem to get along very well. Why listen? I mean, if it were me, I wouldn't help you." He knew that hit home; she spun around to face him, eyes glowing even brighter as they glared at him.

"Some beings feel loyal to those whom they have no blood ties, while some feel loyal to those that gave them life! I have chosen which I am!" Another insult was just begging to drip from her barb covered tongue, but she held it in. For the sake of silence, she turned round then and continued walking, swallowing her anger. Jim, for all his hot-headedness, knew when to quit. He knew that if he said anything else at this point, this girl would u and leave him stranded.

They walked in relative silence from then on, save for a few 'hurry up's and 'ouch's. When Jim finally felt the road beneath his boots, it was no time at all that he was standing at the porch of the inn, illuminated in pale yellow, flickering light. He could still see the girl's eyes, glaring at him.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure why Akmra was still standing there, until finally, she rolled her eyes and stepped closer.

"'Thank you' are the words Imperials say when helped," she said, looking at him like he was the dumbest man she'd ever encountered. "So perhaps, you should say them to me."

"Why should I?" he snapped, finally able to speak freely, without the fear of abandonment. "You insulted me the entire way; in fact, you haven't said one civil thing o me since we got here! I owe you nothing."

"You stupid creature!" Akmra shrieked, scowling and balling up her fists. "Our branches are nowhere near one another! I am ashamed to call you flower of my tree!" she said, referring to her earlier analogy. Jim only smirked.

"Flower? So you admit I'm better looking?" he said maliciously, and instantly Akmra flushed red, both from embarrassment and fury.

"Useless and bitter and deceitful, more like!" she shouted, before turning her back and stalking off, mumbling what Jim could only assume were insults in her own language. His false smile falling into a grimace, he made a face in her direction, before entering the inn and slamming the door behind him.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"Damn!" It was only minutes until class started, and as Jim bumbled his way through the entrance of the Benbow, he knew there was no way in hell he'd make it there on time. Only one arm in his jacket and one of his boots unbuckled, the boy snatched the solarsurfer from the spot it usually occupied, leaning faithfully against the far end of the building, before tossing it out in front of him and sprinting on. Immediately, the engines kickstarted, roaring to life, and as the sail jumped up, missing Jim's nose by only a few centimeters, he was off, pulling his other arm through his white jacket.

Jim was an excellent surfer, he had had many years of practice, and with his custom modifications, his surfer couldn't be beat; but unfortunately, it couldn't slow time, and as he pushed the engines harder, willing them to go faster, time ticked mercilessly away. Who was he kidding? The Academy was miles away, he would never make it in time! He wouldn't even make it in time for the grace period, which he'd already used up this quarter. He was still a good fifteen minutes off and, checking his watch briefly, class would start in approximately five.

Still though, he had to try. Pushing the board higher, climbing up until he could feel the precipitation of the clouds, cold on his cheeks, he suddenly stepped back, clicking for the sail to retract, and pushed the board into a nosedive. If there was one thing Jim knew how to do, it was do reckless things to push himself to his limits; he'd only ever gotten this to work once before, all other attempts had always ended in a smashed board and some sort of injury. But it was at least worth the shot. If he didn't make it out unscathed, at least he would have an excuse.

As the ground raced closer and closer, Jim picking up more speed as he fell, he could feel his heartbeat increase as he anticipated the exact moment he would need to react to gain the correct speed and still have enough time to pull out of the dive. Just when it appeared that he'd overshot it, and wouldn't be able to veer up, another click, and the board suddenly leveled out, sail popping back into place, and shot forward like a sling shot. His hair whipped back as he squinted and grinned against the wind.

Boots squeaked against the marble floors of the hallway as Jim hung a left, taking a hard turn and almost slipping on the polished floor. There was no explaining how he'd managed, but somehow, here he was at the Academy, with just seconds to spare. Breathing hard as he raced through the corridors, he just needed to make it into class before his professor locked the door and-

"Cadet Hawkins." He stopped cold, stumbling a bit at the immediate halt. Captain Petre Gregorovich stood with one hand on the handle of Jim's classroom, a stack of books and files under the other. The considerably older man stared at his student with open disdain. "I don't know what you expect to get out of my courses, seeing as you haven't been on time once this quarter."

"I'm not-" the boy attempted to protest, but was silenced as his professor held up a bony hand.

"I suggest spending a bit more time on an effort towards punctuality, and a little less time working on that raggedy shrapnel you insist on calling a solar surfer, and maybe you'd be doing half as well here at the Academy as Captain Amelia recommended you would be." Taking one last, loathsome look at the dumbfounded boy, Captain Gregorovich opened the door, entered his classroom (full of students who had no doubt been listening in on the exchange) and shut the door behind him. Jim heard the click of the lock, and then everything was silent.

"Jim?" Doppler snapped Jim out of his daydreams, as the Captain jerked his head up from resting it in his hands, staring out the window to the dreary landscape beyond. "Jim, you've been sulking for far too long," the older man said. "Look at you; wasting away in here all day. How long's it been since you've gone outside?"

"Six days," Jim mumbled, turning back to the window. Doppler let out a sigh.

"C'mon. We're going to go check up on the Silver." Crossing the room, Doppler took Jim's good arm and brought him to his feet. Rising slowly, Jim scratched his cheek, surprised by the slight beard he found adorning his chin. He'd completely forgotten about shaving, and had accidentally let it grow out again. How had he missed that?

"Maybe I have been up here in the inn too long," he said, half to himself, and shut the door behind him as he and Doppler made their way through the hallway and out of the front entrance. His ribs barley giving him any trouble anymore, he made his way around with easy now, and was starting to attempt to move his injured arm, though he knew those bones would take much longer to heal.

"Precisely what I'm saying. You haven't come to see the ship in ages, and I think you'll be quite pleased with the progress."

"Yeah, well, there's a reason I haven't come to see it," Jim grumbled, suddenly realizing why he hadn't been out much recently. Every time he attempted to go anywhere or do anything, there she was, right in his way, and it wasn't like he enjoyed conflict. He tried to avoid Akmra at all costs. Doppler looked sideways at him as they walked, and noticed the crease forming between the Captain's eyebrows.

"She hasn't been on the ship, you know," he said, coughing slightly. He didn't know how Jim would react to him bringing up the mechanic's daughter, but he didn't immediately show any signs that he'd heard. After a few moments, he nodded slightly.

"Good," was all he said.

"I don't why you wanted her gone, honestly. She's quite handy with a wrench. I sometimes see her, working on other ships." Jim turned his head slightly and gave his old friend a questioning look. "Oh, please! Jim, this is nonsense! You hating that girl, it's very childish. She's quite intelligent, why, just the other day, she explained to me the biochemistry behind-"

"Look, no offence," Jim cut in, "but I really couldn't care less, Doc. I wouldn't have a problem with her, if she didn't have such a problem with me. It's that simple."

* * *

"Well, I will admit, every other word out of her mouth is a criticism of the Empire, but like I said, her resentment isn't unfounded. She is justified to her own opinion, after all." Jim didn't reply, just looked away. He didn't want to talk about her anymore. He just wanted to stretch his legs, check up on his ship, and that was it.

"Yeah, it looking much better," Agre was telling Doppler, blowtorch still in hand as he flicked the visor up over his face.

"Internal combustion chambers are up to Imperial standards," a younger, more fluent mechanic reported, walking up to stand next to his considerably shorter boss. "And we've finished the main and interior bodies; welding the exterior bondings and repairing the masts and sails comes next."

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Doppler said, clapping his hands together. "She's really coming together, eh Jim?" Jim was walking along the deck, inspecting the work of the mechanics. It was impeccable! Jim could have sworn the handiwork was better even than Imperial work! And was happening at a much faster rate; the same repairs might have taken up to a year or more at an established Imperial port. Smiling to himself, he continued his walk. Doppler, on the deck below, shook his head at Jim's silence. "Yes, well, needless to say I'm sure Jim is thrilled with the progress! He's getting bored here, I can tell."

"There isn't much to do in the town," the younger worked affirmed, nodding his head. "And without any way of seeing at night, I'm sure he's getting restless. All Imperials do."

"That why we are to working fast," Mr. Agre said, tipping his head to the boy, signaling that he should return to work. As he left, and Agre stood with Doppler, the oil-covered man leaned in, and lowered his voice. "I know Captain is not to very well on with Akmra. She speak very loud and animate and, uh, very….very badly of him. No way to paddle around that rock."

"Yes, I agree. Jim's been acting very inappropriately, and I'm very sorry-"

"Ah, no." Agre waved a hand and stepped back. "Akrma is of spoiled. Everything she sees, she wants, she gets. Sometimes, she should of have to say no to. Not every person for to she meets will see in her eyes." Throughout their stay, Doppler had come to realize that about half of what Agre ever said to him was badly translated euphemism, so he'd long ago stopped trying to understand. Nodding vaguely, he looked up again to see Jim repel one-handed from the deck to the dock, and smile at Agre.

"How long till she's space-worthy?" he asked, slightly breathless.

"Not for to long. Maybe eight days? Maybe ten. Not long, not long." Jim's smile pulled up at one corner; eight days! Just eight days 'till he could leave this damn space rock and get back into Imperial long-range waves; he was eager to file a report back about the attack.

"Well, we are very grateful at the haste which you and your crew have been putting into the repairs! I'll be sure to note the Treasury at once about the excellent service, and request double payment from the Empire!" As Doppler went on, Jim was looking up appreciatively at the Silver, when something behind him caught his ear.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Nu-uh! My Dad gave me this!"

"Mine was that color!"

"Oh, shut up, the both of you!" Jim turned in the direction of the small voices, and spied several young kids, most boys, scrabbling around the garage of Agre's building. The garage door was halfway closed, and the kids scrambled in and out, arms full of tools and small parts and wires. They looked like they were building something. "Just get handful of those bolts over there, and a drill. Any of you got a drill?"

"No, but I can ask my Dad!" As he watched, one of the kids, a girl, stood up and ran barefoot towards Jim and Doppler, but veered off to the ship at the last second. Grabbing hold of the pulley ropes, she hauled herself up with an ease that would suggest she'd been doing it for her whole life. A few moments later, she reappeared, climbing back down with a drill in her arms, coil wrapped over her shoulder. "I got one!" she shrieked to her friends, who instantly swallowed her in a flurry of motion and noise.

"Be for careful, Jekrah!" one of the workers on the ship bellowed. So, these were mechanic's children. It made sense that the kids of these guys would want to build like their fathers. Glancing over at Doppler and Agre, Jim started to walk over to them. He didn't know why, just curious maybe. He wasn't ever really good with small kids, but there was just something about how they skittered about, seemingly very comfortable drilling into the engine of what looked like a crude solar surfer. They reminded him a bit of how he'd been as a kid, and a bit of how he hoped his own daughter would turn out one day.

Oblivious to the Captain's approach, the kids worked on, running back and forth, a few disappearing into the garage. When he was close enough, the tallest of the children, a sandy-haired boy, straightened up and looked at him, reminding him a bit of a meerkat. As soon as he took notice of Jim, the others seemed to finally catch on, and one by one, they peered up at him as well. Suddenly, Jim felt very awkward.

"Uh...what's that you're building?" he finally asked, and a few of the kids stepped away for him to see. It did seem to be a solar surfer, but upon further inspection, he noticed it had no release hatch for the sail, nor any mechanisms to release one.

"A Jarkhnott," one of the kids said, setting down the fistful of bolts he had fetched from the garage. It wasn't a word Jim was familiar with, but just from the look of the machine, he guessed it was whatever the kids called surfers here.

"So, it's like a solarsurfer?" he asked, stooping to look at it. The sandy haired boy just stared at him, but the other children smiled, happy that an adult was, for once, interested in their project, instead of just annoyed at their presence. The girl, Jekrah, pointed out the twin-turbine engine propulsion system.

"We don't have enough solar wind on Lumria," she said, "so we've added another chamber to the engine to generate enough thrust to kickstart it off the ground." Jim lifted the device a few inches to examine the underside.

"It looks like you've torched the rudder short," he said, puzzled. Another kid, a curly haired boy, nodded and smiled a gap-toothed grin.

"If the rudder is too long, it creates too much drag and it won't get off the ground." He squeaked, and Jim nodded.

"Oh, you've got to cut drag if there's no sail; I get it." Giving each other excited looks, the children started firing design questions and fielding ideas at Jim, who was finding it increasingly easy to talk to them, even though they were just kids. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this after all.

"So, my Dad says you're the Captain of the INF Silver," Jekrah said, looking shyly up at him. "He says you're an Imperial officer. I want to be an Imperial ship designer when I grow up!"

"Is that so?" He sat down on the ground in front of the surfer, and immediately the kids scooching closer to listen to him talk.

"I want to be a Captain," one boy said, and another nodded vigorously next to him.

"Me too!"

"I want to teach as an Imperial Professor!" the curly haired boy said.

"I want to fix ships like my Mum and Dad," another chimed in, and several tiny voices chorused after him, affirming that they, too, wanted to follow in the footsteps of their parents.

"How did you become Captain?" one of them asked, and they all seemed to collectively lean in, smiles bright and curious. Jim just laughed, and scratched the back of his neck.

"Ah, well, I was admitted to the Academy when I was 19, and after I graduated, I started out as part of the crew on a ship carrying cargo from my home, Montressor to the Lagoon Nebula. After a long time, I became second mate on an Imperial guard ship, and then first mate, and well…now I'm Captain." He knew it wasn't the action-packed story they'd been hoping for, but it wasn't like his time after his voyage to Treasure Planet had been particularly exciting. And the adventure that started it all…well, that was old news by now.

"How long did it take you?" one child asked, and this made Jim think a little bit. He hadn't celebrated his own birthday since Maya had passed away, and that had been when he was 26. Doing a bit of adding in his head, he realized it must be nearing his 29th birthday.

"Well, it's been almost ten years since I started at the academy. I guess it's been about seven years since I was first stationed on a cargo ship."

"What was the Academy like?" These kids were just full of questions.

"Uh, well…to be honest, I had a really bad time there. I didn't really like it." He halfheartedly smiled. "I was a pretty bad student." The kids giggled at this.

"We're great students!" two boys said in unison, and Jim could tell that they had to be brothers; they both had the same upturned noses and shaggy black hair.

"Well then, I guess you're gonna have a better time at the Academy than me," he said, "I bet you'll be Captains in no time-"

"Children should not be fed false hope." Whilst talking to his tiny admirers, Jim hadn't noticed the tall sandy-haired boy slip away from the group. But as he walked back, adult in tow, Jim felt his spirits sink. The boy, whom he should have guessed by appearance, was hand in hand with the mechanic's daughter. How he had not guessed they were related was beyond him. Her face was harder than a stone as she approached, and as she brushed the small boy's hair back out of his face, she turned a momentarily softer gaze on the crowd of kids. "I have talked to Yapkut about the parts you asked for. He says he is willing to trade them for an hours work out of each of you," she said to them, and immediately they jumped up.

"That's easy!" Jim heard one exclaim. "Thanks Akmra!" As they scooted past her and ran off to help whoever Akmra had talked to for them, one of the kids gave her a hug as they passed. For the first time since he'd been here, Jim say her pay the boy a genuine smile. But as soon as they were out of sight and she thanked what he assumed was her brother before he left, her gaze was hard as nails back on him.

"I cannot believe you," she said, walking over as Jim stood. "Getting their hopes up! What kind of cruel man does that to children?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jim replied, cowling at her. "What are you even doing here? Have your brother tattle on me and you come running?"

"This is my house, and my brother knows that you are no friend to the Agre family. He, like myself, is loyal to his flesh and blood." Almost nose to nose, the two stood, silently daring the other to make the first move and instigate the fight.

"I wasn't planting false hope, I still don't know what you're talking about." Jim's teeth were clenched as he spoke, and he had to concentrate on not losing his temper.

"You are all the same!" Akmra spit, nearly snarling. "You think becoming Captain is some easy feat, such that everyone should do it! You forget that at the corners of the universe, others are denied the chances that you snatch up so readily and greedily! You have no thought for children who are rejected before they even apply!" This took him back a bit. Rejected before they applied? What was this crazy girl talking about?

Jim hardly remembered his admission process. It had been sped up, for the sake of the events that had preceded it, and thanks to Captain Amelia's recommendation, he had hardly needed any interview or preliminary skills check. But he knew that others, who didn't have the talent or knowledge were often rejected from Academy ranks. But these kids showed the talent, they had already figured out a way to build a surfer without a sail, and constructed it to near perfection. If they were this naturally gifted, he was sure they could easily make it into a branch of the Academy.

"What do you mean?" he said, backing off just the slightest bit. "What do you mean by rejected before they apply? They have just as much chance as any other kid." Didn't they? Akmra let out a small, bitter laugh and turned away.

"I must sit by and watch as my brother loses hope in a future such as yours. Natives cannot apply, simply because we do not live up to the 'ideal' set out by the Empire." She shook her head sadly. "We are not physically strong like our kind, nor adapted to live in places with too much light. We are too 'fragile', in their words. Too breakable. Too weak."

"That's ridiculous," Jim said, before laughing. "I mean, they let Doppler through the Academy! There's no way in hell anyone here is weaker than the Doc!" But even at his joke, Akmra just stared sullenly at him. This was no joke to her.

"Yes. It IS ridiculous. But we cannot chance the views of others, however much we wish to. So we must live at their will. But here, Jim Hawkins, you will live at our will." She stabbed a finger at his chest, not quite touching him. "Leave my brother and his friends alone. They do not need you filling their heads with ideas that will never be fulfilled. I care about them as if they were my own, and I do not want them hurt." She paused as she started to turn away, but glanced one more time at him. "Like I was." And as she left, Jim got the feeling she wasn't talking about her leg with that last sentence.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Rain pattered on the muddy ground for what seemed like the whole week as Jim tried to find ways to keep himself occupied. Since his confrontation with Akmra and the children, he hadn't seen her around the docks, but he knew she must have been there. Jim had been spending his days helping with the Silver is whatever ways he could, and often he saw Akmra's brother, the sandy-haired boy watching him, before running off towards the garage. Jim knew he was spying for her. Why she didn't just come out and confront him he didn't know, seeing as arguing seemed to be her favorite pastime.

As his arm was still rather useless, Jim found it difficult to do much help, but while he couldn't assist with lifting the masts or patching the sails, he was steadily cleaning up the Stateroom, which was in quite the disarray. With the glass swept up and a few of the windows replaced, a slight breeze carried in a few raindrops through some of the still-bare window frames, and as Jim upturned the desk and started gathering the scattered papers, the breeze caught his hair, whipping it across his eyes.

"Really?" he said to no one, laughing slightly as he brushed his bangs back, and reached to check the desk drawers for broken or damaged items. Nothing but a few documents and pens, and the holodisk. Picking up the small black disk, Jim pushed the button, and up popped the image of him and Maya.

"Don't take my picture!" Maya had said bashfully on that day, trying to bury her face in Jim's shoulder.

"Oh, Maya, but you look so beautiful!" Sarah held the holocamera up, pleading with her new daughter-in-law. "Please? I'm sure Jim will always want to remember how you look today; oh, you two are so wonderful together!" Jim chuckled and took his new wife's hand, smiling down at her.

"Please?" he said quietly, and she peeked up at him through thick lashes.

"Only because you're asking, James," she replied, and reluctantly turned to the camera. Just before Sarah took the picture, Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek, causing her apprehensive, bashful smile to be replaced with a genuine one, and as she looked up at him, they both heard the 'snap' of the camera as it finished recording.

It felt like someone had improperly tied a slipknot with Jim's stomach as he looked at the endless loop displayed in front of him. It was like this every time he looked at her picture; the pain, the hurt, the loneliness. Even if he could convince himself to forget about it sometimes, whenever he saw the holodisk, it all came crashing back on him. She was so beautiful, so wonderful, so positively perfect, and yet she wasn't here. She was gone. And there was nothing Jim could do about it.

Jim didn't usually cry. He tried not to. He could count all the times he'd cried in his life on his fingers. When he'd fallen off his Father's solarsurfer when he was small, when his father left, when Mr. Arrow had been lost, when Maya had died, and when he'd left Evelyn on Montressor. But as he sat staring at his wife's face, smiling so lovingly up at him in the picture, a single tear slid down his cheek.

But as was usually the case in Jim's life, his misery did not go unnoticed.

"Who is that?" came a small, unfamiliar voice. Nearly toppling over from surprise, Jim's hand smeared the tear away from his cheek and his head snapped up, only to see that sandy-haired boy, leaning in through one of the open windows.

"Hey!" he said, scrambling to get to his feet. "What are you doing in here?" The kid set his elbows on the ledge and looked up at the captain, the same slightly bored expression donning his face as his older sister's.

"Is that your wife?" he pointed to the still played holodisk in Jim's hand, which he immediately switched off.

"None of your business! I'll ask you again, what are you doing?"

"Because you were crying." The boy completely ignored what Jim was saying, and in fact, started to climb in through the window. He sat on the ledge, feet dangling above the ground. "It seems like that might have been your wife, and you're crying because she's not here? Or maybe she's dead." Well, it seemed like being blunt ran in the Agre family. Jim was almost too shocked to be angry.

"Clever kid," he said bitterly, giving him a fake smile. "I wonder where you got it from." The kid just stared at him.

"Logic is a trait highly prized in the Imperial Navy. Many Academy attendees take classes in logic to learn the skill. I am just naturally logical. It is a trait that the Empire is squandering in me." Well, wasn't he the little anti-Imperialist. Jim let out a sigh laced with the ghost of a laugh as he imagined Akmra feeding this boy anti-Empire propaganda.

"I'm sure squandering isn't the right word," he replied, setting the holodisk back in the desk drawer. "Listen, if you don't answer me, I'm going to have you escorted off the ship. What are you doing in here?"

"I have been watching you. Akmra told me that you are a bitter, angry man and that picks needless fights. I found it interesting that she would describe you like that, because in her, I see the same traits."

"Uh…" Jim hadn't seen that coming. Of course he knew that the girl was very bitter herself, but for her own brother to say it? After all, he was her little tattletale.

"I can see on your face that you find it surprising that I would speak against my sister." Again, the kid hit the nail on the head. "But I am not speaking against her. Only of her. She acknowledges that fact that she is angry and bitter as well. She has reason. I've been watching you, to see if you have a reason as well." Jumping off the ledge, the boy nodded towards the desk, and by association, the holodisk. "I suspect if my assumptions are right, you do have a reason to be so angry. Though, why it's directed at my sister, I don't know."

Jim just stood, astonished at the boy. Not only was he speaking to Jim as if he were a kid himself, and was being chastised by a Professor or senior Officer, but with such an eloquent grasp on the English language. Akmra had told them English came easier to the younger generations, who could learn it alongside their native language, but this was bordering on ridiculous; Jim's English wasn't even that good!

"Jeez," he said, one side of his mouth pulling up in a half smile, half grimace. "Should have guessed you'd be this smart, seeing as you've got that girl as your sister."

"Her name is Akmra, and she is not a girl," the kid said. "Not anymore than you are just a boy."

"Okay, seriously, how old are you?"

"I'm ten." Jim couldn't believe it. Did everyone in this family just act and speak as if they were better than everybody?

"I can't believe that Akmra thinks you wouldn't be accepted into the Academy. You could probably just guilt the admittance Officers into letting you sign up." A tiny smile curled the edges of the boy's lips, but he said nothing. Jim could not believe that the empire would reject a kid like this. Smart, logical, condescending; wasn't that the perfect equation for a Command Officer? He certainly spoke with the confidence of one. "What's your name, kid?"

"Simkov," he replied, not braking gaze with the Captain.

"Okay, look Simkov. I don't care what you report back to Akmra, and I don't care what she tells you about the Empire. But if it were my decision, you'd be made a Cadet in a heartbeat."

"That's what Akmra said you would say to me. But I appreciate it anyway." This kid never gave up. Jim knew he'd have some sort of cynical retort for everything he said so, rolling his eyes, he turned back towards the mess in the stateroom. Simkov stood and watched him for a while, asking the odd question about documents hung on the wall now and then, but after a while left. Before he went though, he asked to see the holodisk again.

"Why should I?" Jim asked him, raising an eyebrow. It was his picture, after all, of his wife. What did this kid want to know about it?

"I want to see how pretty she was. Akmra told me that when she and Jeuk and bruskt saw it, she thought your wife was far too beautiful for you. I just wanted to-"

"Wait…she what?" Immediately, the boy's eyes widened a bit.

"I think I should go now." Before Jim could catch him, he hopped through the window and climbed down the side of the ship to the dock, where he hit the ground running and took off. Jim leaned out as he descended and yelled down to him.

"Get back here! Tell me what you meant! What do you mean they saw it already!? Those sneaks!"

Up on the deck of the ship, Jeuk and Bruskt asked Mr. Agre if they could take a break, and slipped off of the ship before the Captain could turn his attention to them instead.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

"**So, his wife has passed away?"**

"**I suspect, though he wouldn't tell me."**

"**Simkov, the number one rule of spying is to never get caught!"** Reaching forward, Akmra tickled her brother's sides, and his face cracked into a wide smile.

"**Stop it! Stop!" **He giggled as he fell over on the bed, arms wrapped around his sides. **"No fair tickling me! You are quite a bit larger than I am! You have an unfair advantage!"**

"**Are you calling me fat?"** Akmra tickled him again, a mock frown on her face. **"So mean, Simkov! And after all I've ever done for you!" **As the two continued playing in Simkov's room, Akmra heard the front door open and close, and both siblings immediately stood up and went to the hallway. **"Father? What are you doing home? I thought the masts were being raised today?" **Akmra called down the hall. Herche didn't answer, but started bumbling around the house, searching for something.

"**What are you looking for?"** Simkov asked him, walking into the main living space. Herche just grunted, sifting through a large box in the corner of the room.

"**I can't find my 5" wrench or mast-jack. It's not in the garage. I suspect your friends may have 'borrowed' it," **he said, looking at Simkov meaningfully.

"**No, I used it on another ship; I can go fetch it,**" Akmra said, starting out the door. **"I'll bring it over to the Silver."**

"**He's there, you know. The Captain." **Herche shot his daughter a warning glance, one that clearly read 'get in a fight and there will be serious consequences'. But she just shrugged.

"**I see no reason for him to even confront me. I won't be on the ship long. Besides, I haven't spoken to him since last week, and we had no major disputes to still hold grudges over." **As she left the house and circled round to the docks, she kept a wary eye out, though. Retrieving the wrench, she made her way over to the Silver and swung herself up onto the deck. Handing it off, she relayed to the mechanic on duty her father's intentions for the tool.

"**Thank you, lass," **the mechanic said, and then leaned in a little. **"I'd make my way off of here, if I were you. I hear the Captain's been grumbling about you and Bruskt and Jeuk sneakin' around here since your brother spilled the beans." **This was certainly news to Akmra.

"**He what!?" **she exclaimed, just as she heard the heavy lock of the Stateroom shift open.

"There you are!" Jim called, walking out on deck. He didn't exactly look angry, but he wasn't happy either. "I'd like a word with you. Now." Akmra just crossed her amrs.

"I don't see any point in that. I'm sure you're aware of the fact that I don't like you." Jim didn't back off, though. In fact, he reached out, almost as if he were going to grab her arm and drag her back with him. It was as if the entire crew were holding their breath, waiting to see what the Captan was going to do, but at the last minute, he pulled his hand back, and it folded into a fist.

"I've got something to discuss with you. And I'd be happy to talk to you about it here in the open but…" Jim peered around the girl, and saw Mr. Agre walking down the docks towards the Silver, wiping his hands on a rag. "…I'm not really sure your Father would be so happy to hear it. Unless you want to take that chance?" Akmra bristled at this and, taking a quick glance behind her, nodded angrily.

"Fine." Was all she said, and followed him back to the stateroom, all eyes on the pair of them. Once the door was closed, Jim turned to face her, eyebrows pulling together over his eyes.

"Why were you sneaking around my Stateroom?" he asked, walking over to the desk.

"Not like we found much," she mumbled in response.

"You apparently found enough." Jim reached into the drawer and withdrew the holodisk. He noted the slightly worried look Akmra wore, and continued. "I know you feel that you have some sort of immunity here on your planet, but let me tell you this. This is MY ship. I paid for it with my own hard work, sweat and blood. If I find out you've been sneaking around, going through my things again, I will not hesitate to report back to your Father."

"I am not a child," she burst out, cheeks growing red. "You cannot just threaten me with my Father's disproval! I am loyal to him, yes, but I will not bend to his or your will!"

"Then next time," Jim shot back, just as animated, "I won't hesitate to strike back!"

"You would strike a woman?" she asked, sneering at him. "How despicable!"

"I've fought many aliens before, you'd be no different." Both parties were glaring at one another, but as Akmra stared, she could feel herself deflating under his gaze; Jim was serious about this. She had judged wrong; that holodisk meant more to him than she would have anticipated. She actually took a step back from the full force of hostility his gaze presented.

"I don't see why you're so angry. It is just a picture." She thought she might try her luck and attempt to coax an answer out of him. This really didn't do her any favors, though. Angrily, Jim twisted the mechanism and it sprung to life as he set it on the table.

"Your brother was right. This is my wife. And he was right, she is dead. I don't have that much left of her. Forgive me, if you'd be so kind, that I don't want everyone's eyes on my last remembrances of her," he said through gritted teeth, though as he spoke, he sunk back into his high-backed chair. Pressing his palms to his eyes, he let out a heavy sigh. Akmra was silent. "I suppose your brother also reported that he saw me crying." He said wearily, not lifting his hands from his eyes. "I'd also appreciate it if you don't spread it around. I know you love to make a fool of me, but I'd rather not deal with that particular brand of misery right now."

"…Alright." It took Jim a minute for her answer to sink in, and when it did, he sat up.

"Did you just say 'alright'?" he asked, giving her a quizzical look. She just huffed.

"I'm not as horrible as you would paint me, Jim Hawkins. And for your information," she paused, "Simkov didn't tell me you had been crying." Jim stared at her.

"Fantastic. So I willingly volunteered that information? Great." He slumped back again, arm dangling over the armrest. Akmra rolled her eyes and walked over to stand in front of the desk.

"There is no shame in missing your wife, you know. It is the first genuine emotion I've ever seen from you, or any Imperial we've catered to here." Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, she shrugged, a loop from her overalls sliding down her shoulder. "I was beginning to think you were not a species that could experience genuine emotion."

"That's nice."

"Shut up." Jim continued to stare at the girl, and as he did, something very strange happened. She turned away momentarily, and when she looked back at him, there was a small smile on her lips. "Simkov did tell me that you thought he would make a good Cadet. It is foolish to trick him with false compliments, but…it made him happy to hear praise from someone other than myself."

"Well, it wasn't a false compliment," Jim replied, "I meant it. Despite an almost unbearably cynical attitude, he'd make a good student. Better than I was, at least."

"That's…kind of you to say." It was almost as if it physically hurt her to say anything nice about the Captain, and it took a few moments to get out. "But we both know that he would never be accepted. No one here would be." Now this didn't make any sense to Jim. If such a bright kid couldn't make it into the academy, yet he had somehow managed to graduate himself, where was the justice in that?

"I'd give him a recommendation," Jim said slowly, thinking it over. "If you made him stop spying on me."

"I don't make Simkov do anything. And besides, you are a stupid Captain who almost got himself killed on a suicide mission. Sent into the oblivion by your superiors, how much influence could you possibly have?"

"So, you really don't know what happened to me?" This came as quite a shock to Jim. He almost assumed everyone knew what had happened to him, seeing as it had been all anyone talked about for years after it had transpired. Sure, it and he had faded into obscurity now, but way back when, he'd been quite the hero. It wasn't so long ago, only 12 years. "Trust me, Akmra, I may not be an Admiral or General, but I think I'd be able to get one measly kid into the Academy. Besides, you'd be surprised to find out that I am close and personal friends with the Headmistress of the Montressor branch of the Academy." Akmra just stared at him. Was he really offering to write a recommendation for her brother? Granted, Simkov was several years too young yet, but just the idea that he might have a chance in the Navy…

"You hate us," she said simply. "Why would you help him?"

"I don't hate him. I don't hate you either, though you are a considerable thorn in my side." He said. "Besides, maybe if he were to actually go and learn what it means to be part of the Imperial Navy, you all would stop hating the Empire so much." He watched as her internal struggle played out on her face. He knew she didn't like him, but her feelings of gratitude and feelings of loathsome hatred took turns warping her face into an expression of confusion. Finally, she turned her face away from him.

"…Thank you," she whispered. Jim smiled.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"I said thank you, you insufferable Imperial lapdog!" she spun around to jab a finger at him, going red at his smug little smirk. "You really are stupid, you know that?"

"As I've been told."

* * *

"Masts are all up, engine has been for to repaired, and ship is completed, sir," Bruskt reported to his boss, and Agre smiled at him. Nodding his head once, dismissing the boy, he made his way over to the Stateroom, and poked his head inside to see the Captain straightening the last of the framed documents on the wall. Everything in the room had finally been put back in order, and Doppler had even stopped by a few hours earlier to help put all the books from the bookshelf in alphabetical order.

Since having talked to Akmra, Jim felt in higher spirits, partly because Simov was no longer tailing him and reporting back to his sister. The past few days had been stress free for the Captain, and he had had time to concentrate on putting things back in order.

"Captain," Herche said, and Jim turned to look at him. "I am very to pleased to say, the INF Silver has for been finished."

"Everything's done?" Jim asked, astonished. The ship wasn't supposed to be space worthy for three or four more days! Brushing past the mechanic, he left the Stateroom and went out onto the deck. Everything looked amazing. The ship was restored to it's former glory, and as Jim inspected it, stern to stem, he could not find one thing out of place. "This is amazing, Mr. Agre! Fantastic! So we're ready to take off?"

"Yeah. I go to find your crew and Doctor." He hobbled off, leaving Jim to marvel at the restored glory of the Silver. She looked exactly like how she'd been before the attack! It wasn't long until the ship was swarming with the crew again and Doppler was looking over his instruments.

"Everything seems to be in order. This is better than expected!" Doppler glanced as Jim, who wore a broad smile. "Excited to be leaving, I see?"

"Finally!" Jim replied. "Can't wait till we're space bourn!" As the ship prepared for takeoff and the preliminary systems were put in check, a small crowd gathered on the docks to watch them ascend. Among them were the mechanics and their children, who were all watching with wonder. Of course they'd all seen ships take off and land before, but Jim thought it was funny that the sense of wonder hadn't yet left them. They would all make good Cadets, he thought.

He spied Simkov standing near his Father, grinning ear to ear up at Jim. He wondered if Akmra had relayed what he'd told her to her brother; she must have. Why else would he be giving him such a wide, unabashed smile? He didn't seem like the type of kid to hand those out freely. But one person Jim didn't see was Akmra. She was nowhere in sight, and as the ship rose from the dock, he had a vague feeling that not seeing her was somehow worse for him than seeing her scowling up at him.

* * *

There was no way she was letting him get away that easy. Not now, after he'd promised so much.

Before the ship had started to rise, Akmra had snuck around to the back and started trying to climb her way up the side, without the aid of a rope or pulley. Her fingernails hurt from clawing as the slick wood; she momentarily thought the workers had done just a bit too good of a job. But as she approached an open window, she snagged the edge with her arm and swung herself in. Landing in the dark cargo room with a thump, she heard the engine roar to life. Gravity was disrupted for a short time, but she was quite used to it. When her feet touched the ground again, she snuck off to find a door.

Jim Hawkins had promised her brother a recommendation, and she knew that if she let him get away so easily, he would 'forget', and they'd always be stuck here on Lumria. So she was going to sneak away with him, and make him write that recommendation, even if it meant leaving her home, and her brother, far behind.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

The warm winds of the Etherium brushed past Jim's face as he stood at the front of the ship. How had he gone so long without this? It was things like this, the sweet smell of fresh air on your face, the bustle of crewmen, going about their chores, the quiet whine of machinery deep within the ship, that made Jim remember why he loved sailing so much. THIS is why he became a Spacer.

"Captain, we are now within Imperial radiowave space. We're being bombarded by Imperial signals." Mr. Latch reported, bring Jim's head of out the clouds. Nodding, he followed the squat alien man down to the communications panel, and slipped the headphones over his ears. Looking over, he could see Doppler was already speaking on one of the frequencies, getting tonguetied as he tried to explain the situation.

"This is Captain James Pleiades Hawkins of the INS Silver, over," he spoke into the copper mounted mouthpiece. A short blair of static nearly shot out his eardrums before voices on the other end were heard, several of them, all shouting.

"Where in the Queen's name have you been, Hawkins!?" One voice shouted over the others as they died away. He recognized the voice as the chief in Command for the fleet. "One minute, you're on our intergalactic RADAR, the next you're gone! We thought you'd been snatched by the pirates!"

"Almost, sir," he said, half smiling. "And it isn't pirates, it's-"

"I don't care if they were space orcas, Hawkins, get to the nearest Naval base and file a report with the Officers! Because of you and your ship, we've been having a hell of a time keeping peace among the fleet! No one will go in after the little stunt you pulled!"

"They shouldn't sir, it's-"

"Over and out, Captain!" Another blair of static, and then the line was dead. Looking up at Doppler, Jim could tell he'd been given a similar treatment. Both stared at each other.

"They wouldn't even listen," Doppler said, disbelief thick in his voice. "I can't believe they wouldn't even let me explain!"

"Doc, that feeling I had before we left is back." Doppler gave Jim a puzzled look, but both were interrupted by a loud crashing below deck, followed by what seemed to be a small explosion. Tearing the headphones off, Jim made his way below, followed by several crew members, and followed the source of the sounds. The cargo hold latch stood open, and as he approached, Jim watched as Kel, the cabin boy, scrambled out, covered in what looked like soot.

"I dunno!" he shouted, running past the Captain down the narrow hallway, squeezing by the others. "I dunno I dunno!"

"What's he on about?" Jim asked, and the others shrugged. Looking back to the hatch, Jim stuck his head in, and his jaw dropped when he saw several boxes labeled 'industrial flashpowder' standing partially ripped open, parts of the crates littered around the small room. They'd been stacked along the wall, but it looked as if they'd been knocked over. About to straighten up and yell for Kel to get back here, Jim was stopped when he heard someone groan, and a few more boxes shift.

Swearing in her own language, Akmra sat up, similarly covered in what looked like soot, and tried to rub the bruise blossoming on the side of her temple.

"Akmra!" Jim shouted, both absolutely dumbfounded and angry. That's why he hadn't seen her scowling at them as they'd left; she'd been stowing away! He knew she would end up causing trouble for him he just knew it! "What in the hell are you doing!?"

"I was TRYING to find a way out of this tiny room," she said, squinting up at him, flashpowder in her eyes, "when that boy came in here and startled me! It was his fault the boxes exploded, not mine!"

"I'm sure Kel wasn't expecting to find a stowaway in here," he growled, walking over and lifting a box that had fallen on Akmra. "Get up. We're turning around to take you back."

"What!?" At this, she jumped to her feet and followed the Captain as he walked out. The crew parted for them both to pass, shocked to see the annoying girl that had plagued their Captain still aboard the ship. "You can't!"

"I can, and I am." Striding out onto deck, he looked up at Mr. Upstart. "Turn 'er around, Upstart. We're going back!" A chorus of 'why's rang out as more and more people came to stare at the stowaway. Akmra's cheeks only grew redder at the attention, but she continued to stare at Jim.

"I came here for a reason," Akmra said, walking to stand in front of Jim. "You're not getting rid of me. You promised you'd write Simkov a recommendation, and I am going to stay around until that time comes!" Jim snorted at this.

"Is that all? Jeez, I'm a man of my word, Akmra! I'll do it, have a little-"

"No! I have no faith in you! You are not getting rid of me, and that is final!"

"I say what's final on this ship! It's my ship!"

"I built it." A smug little smirk donned Akrma's face, though inside she felt panicked. She couldn't go back now. She'd never been off of her planet before, and she knew that if Jim made her return, she'd never get a chance out again. Her Father would make sure of that. And if she left, no doubt would Jim forget, or purposefully not recommend Simkov. She wouldn't let him do that to her brother, she loved Simkov too much to let anyone hurt him like that. "I can rebuild it, if necessary. You said it yourself, the repairs to your ship are like none Imperial hands could make. My Father's talent is my own as well."

The slight tone of desperation did not go unnoticed by Jim, and as Upstart and the other crew members awaited his command, he thought it over. The repairs were excellent. To have somebody to constantly upkeep the Silver at such a high standard would be an excellent addition to the crew…but on the other hand, she had no respect for Jim's authority. He couldn't have her on the ship, constantly undermining his authority. She had to respect him.

"If I let you stay," he said slowly, "then my word goes. And the very first time you misbehave, I'll report you to the Fleet Command as a stowaway, and have you shipped back to Lumria. Is that understood?" He gave her a hard stare, and she found it hard to meet his eyes. Akmra wasn't good at recognizing authority.

"Fine."

"And it's 'Captain' or 'Sir', is that understood?" Jim could hear Captain Amelia saying near the very same thing to him, over a decade ago. He wanted to laugh, but knew it wasn't the right time. But Akmra didn't stare at the floor as she responded like Jim had when he was a child; finally swallowing her pride, she lifted her head to stare him straight in the eyes.

"Yes Captain." She said.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Doppler sat across from Jim, who was filling out the paperwork necessary to turn in at the next Naval base they stopped at, two weeks from then. His fingers drummed on the desk, and eventually, Jim looked up.

"Spit it out," he said, setting his pen down. "You've got something to say, so say it." Doppler didn't wear any expression in particular, but was rather very blank.

"I didn't expect you to be so forgiving of Akmra," he said, looking slightly thoughtful. "Given your feelings of general annoyance towards her, I would have thought you wouldn't have spared any time returning her home again."

"Yeah, well, she did have a point." Jim leaned back, shifting his injured arm slightly to rest against his chest. It was getting better, he could move his hand without much difficulty now. "Look at this place. It's spectacular work. Having her on the ship to upkeep it is useful, I have to admit."

"Yes, well, none the less, I think it was generous of you to allow her to stay." He paused, as if thinking something over, but shook his head. "In any case, I sincerely hope the arrangement works out. It would be a shame if the only person who can keep you out of your depressive slump had to be removed." He stood and, nodding his head slightly, went to leave. Jim stood just as he shut the door.

"Wait, what do you-" SLAM! Jim was alone again, and he sat back down. "Crazy old man. I'm not 'depressive'. And she doesn't keep me from being depressed! If anything, she causes it!" He sat pouting for a minute, before he realized how extremely childish it was to sit and pout.

But for the rest of the trip to the naval base, Jim hardly saw hide or hair of the girl; in fact, it seemed like she may have even been avoiding him. He was glad of it, but it was strange. She'd seemed so keen on making trouble for him on Lumria, that now that she was trying her hardest to keep out of it, it felt off somehow.

The night before they were scheduled to arrive, Jim was just finishing up the mountain of paperwork in his Stateroom, as he yawned and stretched. It was far too late, all of the crew had turned in for the night, but even though Jim knew he should get up and head for his quarters, he started to drift off as he sat at his desk, and soon, his head was against the mahogany, and he was snoring quietly. And the dreams he had were anything but normal.

"James." It was that voice again, the one who had spoken to him after he'd been knocked out in the attack. He still couldn't quite place who it belonged to, it didn't sound familiar at all, but somehow he knew he'd met whoever was speaking.

"What do you want?" he called into the blackness.

"They are both safe," the voice said, repeating what it had told him before. "And they are beautiful."

"Who is safe?" he asked once again, not really expecting an answer. "Tell me! Who are you?"

"One of green and one of gray, one at work and one at play." This time, the voice took on a sing-song sort of tone, and Jim had had enough of this nonsense.

"Listen, if you're not going to tell me who you are or what you want then why are you even talking to me?" he asked. But there was no reply after that. And in an instant, he felt himself rushing towards consciousness.

Waking with a start, he looked around. The Stateroom was dark and empty, and the Silver creaked as it sailed lazily through the Etherium. Everything was calm. Everything, except for Jim's mind, that is. There was no way the Captain was getting back to sleep now, not with all these questions bumping around in his head. Standing and cracking his back, he walked slowly out onto the deck, and looked around. Everything was empty, everyone asleep. Quietly, Jim reached up and grabbed the lines from the mast, pulling himself up. It was a challenge with only one arm, but he'd gotten pretty good at working around his injury lately, and as he climbed closer to the crow's nest, he felt a certain sense of calm wash over him as the winds grew stronger.

Grabbing the edge, Jim pulled himself up and over, and came face to face with a sleeping Akmra. Slightly surprised, he realized that apart from passing out in the galley, Akmra didn't actually have anywhere to sleep. She must have been climbing up here every night since she'd gotten here, which was unfortunate for Jim, seeing as this was his favorite thinking spot. He thought about waking her up and making her move, but he knew that would end badly, and really, did he want to make her move? She was fast asleep. He wasn't that mean.

Standing there, peering over the edge of the crow's nest railing, Jim tried to decide what to do. Glancing at her face, devoid of any emotion, completely lax in sleep, he wondered how old she was. She certainly didn't look any older than 21, that was for sure, but he knew Lumrians counted age differently. There was no way she'd been alive as long as he had been, that was for sure, but still…now that she wasn't scowling or mocking or insulting him, he had to admit. She was pretty.

Too bad Akmra had chosen that moment to sleepily open her eyes. In her sleep-dazed grogginess, she didn't see the Captain staring down at her as she slept, all she saw was a shadowed figure, and immediately her metal foot shot out, colliding with his jaw and shaking him loose off of the railing. Losing his grip, he started to teeter backwards, scrambling to grab onto something. Sitting up, Akmra realized who she'd just kicked, and reached out and grabbed a fistful of the front of Jim's shirt. Attempting to pull him backwards into the crow's nest, he was too heavy for her, and all that ended up happening was both Jim and Akmra being dragged out of the crow's nest by the ship's artificial gravity.

Both man and woman tumbled down, the mast lines whipping around them as they fell. Trying to turn herself as she fell, Akmra entangled her metal leg in some of the lines and, in a single moment of panic-free clarity, she grabbed Jim's good arm with both hands and braced herself. Just as she'd thought; the rope snared in the machinery attached to her leg broke their fall just inches above the surface of the deck, and Akmra immediately dropped Jim, letting him thump down, landing on his back. Unable to get herself free, she tried unsuccessfully to wiggle her leg out of the tangle of ropes, but it was no use. As she pulled herself up to inspect it, she saw that the ropes were caught and frayed in the joint between her ankle and shin.

"Damn! What the hell is your problem?" Jim said, sitting up and rubbing his chin where she'd kicked him. He looked up to where she was struggling only a few feet above him, he saw that she was caught. Rolling his eyes, he stood and flicked out his pocket knife. "Here, let me cut you down."

"I can do it!" she hissed, though it was apparent that hanging upside down was not the best position to wrestle a cyborg leg free from frayed ropes. Standing and reaching up, Jim sawed at them for a moment, and then Akmra fell, hitting the deck hard. "Ow!"

"Serves you right, for kicking me, Jim said, staring down at her.

"What was I supposed to do?" she asked, "I saw a strange person watching me sleep. Tell me you wouldn't have done the same?"

"Well…maybe. Here." He held out his hand to help her up, but she only looked at it with a scowl. "Oh, come on. You can't be serious? You just grabbed my arm, not to mention the kick. I'm just trying to help you up."

"I grabbed your arm to save you from falling," she said, standing on her own, but nearly stumbling back down. Her ankle would not bend right. "It is not the same. You still don't have my permission to touch me."

"Fine, whatever, have it your way." Folding the knife and putting it back in his pocket, Jim watched as she hobbled over to the side of the deck and sat on the edge, pulling her injured leg onto her lap. He nearly laughed watching her attempt to get the rope untangled; that is, until he realized she couldn't because her fingers were still shaking.

"Stupid appliance," he heard her mutter, struggling. Heaving a sigh and pressing his hand against his face, he walked over.

"Stop. Here, let me do it."

"No! I am perfectly capable!"

"Look at you, you're a shivering mess! You couldn't pick rocks out of the sand." He stooped in front of her and reached out to hold her artificial ankle. At the last minute, she jerked it away.

"Just because it is not my flesh doesn't mean I will let you touch it," she said, to which he only snorted in annoyance.

"Look, it'll take you all night to do it yourself, whereas I can be done with it in a few minutes. It's your choice, but I'm the one offering help here." She was silent for a minute, thinking it over, and then finally crossed her arms.

"Fine. But only the metal parts. And this is a one-time deal. Don't go thinking this gives you any licenses to touch me again."

"Believe me, I wouldn't _dream_ of it," he sneered, pissed that she wasn't being more grateful. What was with her? Here he was, letting her stay on his ship after stowing away, letting her have his thinking spot, and she kicks him in the face, nearly drops him to his death, and then yells at him for wanting to help fix her leg? She had some nerve! But as he picked he rope fragments and knots out of the joint, and she watched him, she let out a sigh and frowned.

"Thank you," she said, with some difficulty. He could tell she didn't want to thank him, but felt that he might threaten to take her back if she didn't. Nodding slightly as he looked at her, he acknowledged her.

The pant leg of her overalls kept sliding down and obscuring the joint, so Jim carefully rolled it up a few times, and realized that the metal appliance Akmra wore went up farther than he'd expected. He initially thought it was a partial shin and foot, but upon further inspection, it appeared to also contain a knee joint. He couldn't see up farther than that, but he suspected now that perhaps it was her entire leg that had been replaced. He'd never seen her in anything but long pants before, so he really didn't know. Akmra noticed his small hesitation as he looked at the exposed portion of her metal leg.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, snapping him back to reality. He stuttered that he didn't know what she was talking about, and went back to inspecting her ankle. "It doesn't go all the way up to my hip, but it goes pretty far. I was only a tiny girl when it was blown off, and it was a big explosion. I'm lucky they didn't take more of me." By 'they' Jim knew she meant the Empire. Despite wanting to enroll her brother in the Academy, and wanting to remain on the ship, she still fostered a deep-rooted resentment of the Empire, and he knew she wouldn't soon let it go, if ever.

"I wasn't thinking that," was all he said, but she shook her head and smiled.

"Of course you were. Everyone does. It's okay." Quiet descended around them again, and Jim finally freed the last bit or rope, and stood.

"There," he said, "finished. Does it work okay?" Akmra stood and flexed it a few times, and then set her weight on it.

"Yes. Thank you…again." Her awkward thanks made Jim feel strange somehow, almost like her awkwardness was infectious. Scratching the side of his face, now bare after he'd let the partial beard grow in and then shaved it off, he shrugged.

"It's pretty impressive. The machinery, I mean," he said.

"I built it myself. The one my Father made for me when I was younger was far too crude to get around on. I improved on his designs."

"Well, it's…nice."

"Captain, did you just call my fake leg 'nice'?" Akmra fixed Jim with the queerest stare, and he immediately shook his head. That sounded far weirder than he'd meant for it to sound in his head!

"No! I mean, yeah, but I didn't mean it that way, I…go back to sleep." Waving his hand to dismiss her, he knew it was a lost cause. Walking slowly back to his quarters, he heard the rigging rustle above his head as Akmra was no doubt climbing back up the masts.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

The inside of the naval base was quite small, though Jim didn't know what he'd been expecting. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, and normally manned by maybe one or two officers, though several more had come out to meet the captain and crew of the Silver on the desolate little planet. As Jim walked through the hallways, led by an Officer with red hair and an abnormally long nose, he couldn't help but shiver. Not from cold, rather, from the strange feeling he'd been getting lately about the whole situation they'd gotten into. He'd been having knots in his stomach just thinking about the strange reaction of the Commanding Officer on the longwave radio, and the strangeness of the attack itself.

"Hawkins, come in, come in!" the Admiral boomed as Jim was led into a small room. Doppler followed close behind, and sat in one of the chairs surrounding the small white table in the center of the windowless room. The Admiral stepped forward and shook Jim's hand. "Good t'see ya! Looks like you're only slightly worse for wear, eh?" He nudged Jim's side with his elbow, but the Captain was unamused. "Right right, we've got business, don't we? Well then, let's sit.

"So tell me, boy, what exactly happened t'ya back there? We lost sight o'ya for near four months!"

"We had to make an emergency crash landing," Jim said, eyes weary of this Admiral. He seemed too jovial for the situation.

"So, y'were attacked then? By the pirates?" He leaned forward, and Jim shook his head.

"It's not pirates, that's what I was trying to tell you. It's an armada. It's an organized fleet from an advanced nation; uniforms and an insignia and everything! Admiral, the problem is much bigger than pirates; we've got a whole nation attacking our ships." Beside him, Doppler nodded gravely, before speaking up.

"The locals from the planet we landed on called the Japnecks, though that was about as much as we could glean from them. Not very many of the younger, more fluent generation knew much about them, and those that did know anything couldn't speak English very well. All we could get out of them was that it was a hostile race, and that ours wasn't the first ship they'd seen attacked." The Admiral listed with interest, lacing his fingers together and tapping his thumbs on the table nervously as Jim and Doppler relayed the entire tale from start to finish.

"So, we now not only have to worry about our boats going missing in their territory, but we've also got an entire new nation to deal with? Cripes! Jacobs!" The red haired Officer stepped forward when his name was called and saluted. "Jacobs, send word back to Headquarters immediately! Hawkins, I'll need that paperwork; I assume you filled out a full report?" Jim nodded. "Good, we're going to have to rush the information to Command. The Chief isn't going to be happy."

* * *

"What did they say?" Dropping from the arm of the mast to the deck surface, Akmra landed gracefully in front of Doppler, startling him and causing him to almost topple backwards.

"A whole lot of nothing, that's what," Jim said, pacing around the deck. "Why isn't anyone taking this more seriously?"

"There's only so much concern someone can show, Jim," Doppler said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "These are Navy men, after all. Emotion isn't exactly a trait fostered at the Academy. You should remember that." At this, Jim threw a nasty look over his shoulder at Doppler, but didn't stop pacing.

"It doesn't feel right," he muttered, more to himself than to the others. "Doesn't feel right." Delbert pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, ad Akmra just stood there, still wondering what had happened.

"The Captain is obviously not going to tell me anything," she said, turning to the older man. "So you tell me. What was said?"

"Well, there wasn't much said really. We told them our story, handed in our report, notarized a few documents, and then were told we'd be informed when any orders were received from Command. We are to remain docked at the base until further notice."

"That seems like a bad reaction to our situation, in my opinion," she said, and Jim spun around.

"Thank you!" he said, smiling incredulously. "See? I'm not the only one with the bad feeling! Something's obviously not right! And you KNOW she's not just agreeing with me to be nice because, well, since when has Akmra ever been nice?"

"Hey!"

"Jim, please don't start anything now!" Doppler felt like a parent, chastising their child for picking a fight at the dinner table. "We have too much on our plate and too much on our minds for that! So just settle down, both of you, and don't step on each other's coattails until this can be sorted out!" Pushing past both of them Doppler headed for his quarters. Both Akmra and Jim watched him go, slightly surprised by his outburst. It wasn't like they fought all the time; only every time they interacted. Glancing sideways, the girl smirked.

"That sounded like a Father scolding his son," she said with a sly smile.

"You never have anything nice to say, do you?"

* * *

It was getting late, and seeing as Akmra was still busy running a once over of the ship, making sure everything was in best shape for about the hundredth time, Jim scaled his way up to the crow's nest, to get some thinking done. He really needed to sort everything through in his mind.

'Why isn't this causing more panic?' he thought, settling down and swinging his legs over the edge to dangle off as he sat. 'Why aren't more people asking us anything? What is wrong with everyone?' He tried to calm himself down; maybe they'd already had a hunch, and this was just confirmation to them? But if so, then why had they lied to him when they'd first given him orders, and told him it was pirates? Either they had lied before and this was old news, or it was news to them, but they just weren't taking it seriously, and the fact that Jim didn't know why was just killing him!

He sat, head tipped back, staring up at the cosmos. Why did everything have to be so messy? Why couldn't they just be lean and bright and beautiful, like the stars above them? Quiet and orderly and beautiful and safe. As he was musing, Akmra was looking up at his legs, which she could see over the edge of the crow's nest, and wondering what he was doing up there. He must have known that was where she slept? She didn't really want to bother him, seeing as he was obviously not in a good mood, but…she was tired…

"Captain." Jim was startled back into reality when Akmra poked her head up and looked up over the railing at him. "Captain, I know you seem to like it up here, but I sleep up here."

"You really need to stop scaring me like that," he wheezed, almost having the breath knocked out of him. He clutched his chest momentarily, and then propped himself up on his good elbow to look at her. "You're gonna kick me out, huh?" he asked.

"Look, I've been awake all day, which is longer than a Lumrian day, I'll tell you that. I'm tired, and my eyes hurt from all the light. I don't mean to disturb your deep thinking or whatever it is you do up here, but I would like to fall asleep sometime soon." She stared blankly at him, and Jim felt like whining. He didn't want to get up! He wanted to continue thinking alone up here! Why did she need this spot, anyway? He never even slept in his real bed, she could have that!

In fact, that was a great idea.

Taking the keyring from his pocket, Jim snapped off the Captain's quarters key, and tossing it to Akmra, who caught it and gave him a strange look.

"What is this?" she asked, holding it up.

"It's the key to the Captain's Quarters. You can have it. Like a trade; you get the Captain's room, and I get the crow's nest. I'll never bother you there, you never bother me here. I like it better up here anyway, and I'm sure you'd like sleeping on a real bed rather than a wooden box a hundred feet above the deck." Stuffing the rest of the keys in his pocket, he watched for her reaction. At first, it seemed like she didn't understand, but suddenly she looked at him angrily.

"This is the key to your room?" she asked, and before he even had time to nod yes, she thrust it back at him. "What are you playing at, here!?"

"Hey, look, I wasn't insinuating anything! It's the only key to the room, you can lock it if you like! I don't care! My point it, the room's yours now, just leave me alone up here!" As Akmra de-bristled, she turned the silver key around in her palm, and then closed her fingers around it.

"Fine. Have it your way." As she started climbing down, he heard her mumble "All Imperials are idiots."

And just like that, he was again alone in his mind.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

Akmra shut the door behind her lightly, turning the key over in her hand a few times. Crazy Captain. Why he wanted the crow's nest so badly was a mystery to her; it was small and cramped and uncomfortable. Why he would want to sleep there, instead of an actual bed, was completely beyond her. But whatever. His loss was her gain.

Not bothering to flick the lights on, seeing as she had perfect vision in the dark anyway, she walked over to the bed and flopped down on it, too tired to care that the sheets smelled overpoweringly of Jim. The bed itself was huge, or at least, huge in comparison to the tiny girl. Looking up and judging its size, though, it seemed far too big for even Jim. Too wide. It was clearly a double bed, and she realized at one point, his wife must have been on the ship with him, before she died. The thought of that would have normally creeped her out enough to refuse to sleep there, but she was just too exhausted tonight; obviously, the crew here didn't know how to hand such a finely crafted ship, and she'd been running around all day, trying to keep them from destroying it. Dirty savages that they were, they wouldn't know mahogany from Crispian star birch!

Reaching out and dropping the key on the end table beside the bed, she felt her hand bump something sitting there, and heard it knock over, but she didn't open her eyes to see what it was. She was already halfway asleep by then. Piling the blankets around her in a big lump, she quickly drifted off.

* * *

Delbert straightened his glasses as he walked down the corridor, poking his head into the Stateroom momentarily to make sure Jim wasn't already awake. It was empty, as he'd suspected, and proceeded to the Captain's quarters. Normally, the Doctor would have knocked, but seeing as this was rather urgent, he let himself in, surprised to see the door wasn't locked.

"Jim, I've some disturbing news for you, I…since when has your hair been that long?" Doppler stopped short as Akmra sleepily poked her head out of the mountain of blankets, long hair drooping in front of her face as she yawned. She stretched as he looked around, before raising an eyebrow. "Is…uh, is Jim in there…?" He pointed to the blankets uncertainly.

"What?" She pulled her hair out of her face to stare at him blearily, eyes having a hard time focusing, both from sleepiness and from the bright light Doppler had flicked on when he entered. "Jim, in…no! Of course not!" Hopping out of bed and nearly tripping as her feet became tangled in the sheets, she stumbled forward. "He kicked me out of the crow's nest and said I could have his room." Doppler let out a sigh of relief; while he appreciated the girl's presence and her generally livening effect she had on the Captain, he never would have thought they'd become anything more than frenemies, let alone…

"Oh, good, then that's probably where he still is." Pulling the lapels of his jacket, he turned to leave. "I'll just, uh, go then." Hands on her hips, Akmra watched the odd little man leave, shutting the door behind him. Walking over to the wall, she flicked the lights off, and the headache she was starting to form instantly receded. Yawning once more and pulling the straps to her overalls back over her shoulders, she went to retrieve the key, which she meant to stow in her pocket, and finally saw what it was she must have knocked over last night. It was a picture frame.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" she said to herself, picking it up and inspecting it. It housed two pictures; one of Jim and his late wife, and another of a smallish human baby. Neither picture moved like the holodisk, and only the one of the baby was in color. Whoever that child was, it had brilliant green eyes. Furrowing her brow, she thought perhaps the child was Jim's, but she'd never heard one lick about him having a baby, and there obviously was no children on this ship; well, discounting Kel. He was still young, but obviously not Jim's son. Besides, Akmra got the feeling this baby was a girl, seeing as she was dressed in all purple. "Maybe it's his sister, or niece. No, it can't be his child. He whines about his wife so much, you'd think, if he'd had a baby, he would be whining about her too." Shaking her head and laughing to herself, she set the picture back down, picked up the key, and strode out of the Captain's quarters out onto deck.

Running her hands through his tangled hair, she came upon a strange scene out on the deck. Jim and Doppler were both looking over sheets of paper that they were pulling from an envelope Doppler held, and poking at them and shouting at each other. Some of the other crew members were looking over their shoulders and shouting as well; whatever was on them, it wasn't good. Shoving her way through the gathering crowd, she tried to make out what they were all saying.

"Bastards!"

"I ain't goin' back!"

"How can they do this!? Don't they have a heart?"

"It's the Fleet Command, it's their job to be heartless."

"Alright, alright, settle down!" Doppler yelled, trying to settle the crew down, though no one listened to him. Jim said nothing, just stared angrily at the paper in his hands. Looking around, Akmra decided she wasn't going to understand anything just standing around, so she walked over to Jim.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking over his shoulder. He was flipping through the pages too quickly for Akmra to read them, never mind that she wasn't the best at reading English anyway. "What is this?"

"They want us to go back," Jim said through his teeth, shoving the papers back in the envelope. "Those bloody bastards want us to go back! Who do they think they are!? Sending us on a death mission! It's like they didn't even listen to our warning!"

"What?" Akmra was confused. Go back? Go back where? Lumria? Doppler seemed to take pity on the girl, who was throwing confused glances at him, and he took the papers from Jim, before the Captain could rip them up. Handing them to Akmra, she pulled a few out, and to the best of her ability, began to read.

'_Captain James Pleiades Hawkins of the INF Silver stop. You are to report back to Squadron 82H Alpha of Secton B4280 of the Hydrophan Galaxy for further investigation of the pirate raids on Imperial Ships stop.'_ Was scribbled at the top of the first piece, above several rows of strange markings that Akmra couldn't read. Most of the pages were sent in strange letters, with a few handwritten notes here and there. But she knew the jist of it; Jim was being ordered right back into Japneck territory.

"I thought you told them of the dangers?" she said, puzzled. "Why are they sending us back?" Jim was stalking back and forth across the deck, hands behind her back.

"I did. We both did. Multiple times. They're sending us back anyway. The bastards didn't even have the guts to say it over the radio! They had to send it in code! Cowards!" He spit the last word. He'd known he should have trusted his gut when he'd had a bad feeling about all of this.

"So…are we really going back?" she asked, looking from Jim to Doppler. The deck fell silent then, the crew having heard her comment and quieting down. She felt strangely uncomfortable, being watched with such strange expressions.

"We have to," Doppler said, raising an eyebrow. "We have no choice." Jim said nothing, just held her gaze.

"That is the problem with you Imperials," she said, scoffing. "Of course you have a choice; follow orders, or not. You only think you have no choice because you are blinded by your ignorant loyalty, which blurs the line between reason and foolishness." While Doppler knew Akmra was not the Empire's biggest fan, he was a little dumbstruck that she would suggest such a thing! To think! Jim going against Imperial orders? That was nonsense! Complete and utter-

"Brilliant," Jim said, quietly at first, but then repeating himself louder. "Brilliant! Okay, screw them!" Taking the papers from her hands, Jim tossed them to the side, over the side of the deck. Doppler let out a gasp as he dived to try and catch them, but wasn't quick enough. A few of the crew members shared a similar expression, but most only looked slightly nervous. A few even looked downright overjoyed. Smiling a somewhat wicked smile, Jim strode over to the wheel, and, addressing the crew, started to turn it, hand over hand. "I'm not really in any mood for a suicide mission, I'm not sure about the rest of you. Anyone who protests can abandon ship at the next Spaceport, otherwise," he looked down at Akmra and Doppler, the former staring up at him openly and the latter nearly hyperventilating from panic, "We're going home."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

"You act as if you've never broken rule before." Jim looked down at the lower deck from where he was leaning against the railing above. The wind was whipping past the Silver and breakneck speeds, and Akmra looked to be having a bad time keeping her hair out of her face as she looked up at her Captain. Jim smirked down at her, laughing a bit to himself.

"It has certainly been a long time," he said, more to himself than to her. "It feels…kinda good. Freeing." Akmra just stared at him, just thinking. The smile he wore was defiant, though not exactly happy. The look seemed to suit his face well, as if he'd worn that particular expression before.

"I would have thought an Imperial lapdog like you would be more careful about not breaking their rules," she said, climbing the set of stairs up to his level.

"Yeah, well…I guess it's kinda in my blood." Again, there was a twinge of something in his smile. Saddness? Anger? No, it was something else, and when Akmra finally placed it, it confused her. He seemed a bit disappointed.

"You don't seem very happy to say that." Looking sideways at her, Jim swallowed the lump in his throat. How was it that she could see right through him? Jim wasn't an easy guy to read; he either looked surly and angry or blissful and a little stupid. He wasn't exactly an open book. But hitting the nail on the head; Jim wasn't pleased to see his rebellious streak rear its head again. He was finally doing something with his life, finally becoming someone his family could be proud of, the father Evelyn deserved. And here he was, disobeying emergency orders. Whether they were justified in the rebellion or not, it still didn't sit too well with him. It felt like a step backwards. Of course, he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Now, what makes you say that?" he said, trying his best to get rid of the guilt and disappointment. All that was left was a slightly cocky smirk. Rolling her eyes, Akmra leaned her elbows on the railing beside him and watched as the cosmos flew by.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a sustained silence. When he said 'going home', she assumed not to her home, seeing as it was square in the middle of Japneck territory. Perhaps his home planet she'd thought, but she had no idea where exactly that was. And even if he told her the location, it wasn't like Akmra knew the stars by heart. She barely even knew her own solar system.

"We're stopping by Montressor for a while, but we can't stay long. That'll be the first place they'll look for us once they realize we've gone renegade. After that," he scratched the stubble on his chin, "I'm not really sure. Stop by a few of the crew's home planets maybe. Then…somewhere I've never been before." He rested his cheek on his hand.

"How long do you suppose all of this will take us?" she asked. He just shrugged.

"Years, I'd guess. We're only two and a half months from Montressor though. Jeez, that's like the blink of an eye." Akmra eyed him curiously. Blink of an eye? That sounded like a long time to her, even in Imperial months.

"How does your species perceive time?" Akmra asked, half joking. "Because we've been floating in space already for nearly ten Imperial months. I don't think I can stand one more week on this ship, let alone nearly three months!" Throwing her a sarcastic smile, Jim chuckled and shook his head.

"When you've spent as much time and are as old as me, the time sort of just flies by."

"Please. You don't look that old to me."

"I'm nearly thirty one." That wiped the smile off of her face. He was thirty? Counting in her head, she tried to figure her own age in Imperial years. Jim noticed her thoughtful expression, and reasoned that she probably didn't have an accurate count of her age in his terms. "You can't be much older than eighteen," he scoffed, but she didn't react, like he'd thought she would.

"I think I am nearly twenty two by your years," she said, trying to keep the numbers straight in her head. "Maybe twenty three. Your numbers are strange." Twenty three? But she looked so young, and acted so spoiled; how was she NOT a teenager?

"That can't be right. You're barely older than Kel!" This, she took offense to, and stuck her tongue out. It was things like that that made Jim really wonder about her age.

"Your cabin boy is a child!" she protested. "I was soldering rudders and configuring self-managing twin chamber combustion engines by his age, and that was quite a while ago."

"Yeah, about that," Jim straightened up a bit, and took a look around him. "How did your family become such great mechanics? I take it it's what your father did before...uh, you know…"

"Colonization," Akmra finished. "And no, we were not always merely mechanics. My Father and Mother built some of the most beautiful spacecraft when they were young. We don't have very good photo taking capabilities on Lumria, but believe me, they were a sight to behold." She was staring off into the distance, and a lazy smile graced her lips. "Before the Empire arrived, our name was known around the planet, and we built ships for every clan. The skies above Lumria don't have many real stars, but they were beautiful just the same, decorated by my family's handiwork." Jim watched her face as she spoke, and thought that he hadn't seen this side of her yet. This quiet admiration; nothing Akmra did was quiet.

"What happened? I mean, why is your Father just a mechanic now?" He was curious, but something told Jim he wasn't going to like her answer much. She glanced at him for a moment, and frowned slightly.

"My Mother died when I was 4 years old. Oh, wait….11, 12, I was 13, I think, in your years. Something like that. Simkov was just a baby when she died. Tossed overboard by an explosion in the main plasma injectors." She shrugged. "My mother knew the risks. But after, my Father just wasn't the same. After Colonization happened, the Empire assigned any ship builders left on Lumria as mechanics." She let out a heavy sigh and slumped a bit. She didn't mind telling the story, but it was a sad one. "They've gutted the planet of nearly all essential frame building materials, and limited technology so that we can't build any ships on our own from scratch, only repair those brought in my Imperials. You saw those children building a…what do you call them? Solar surfers?" Jim nodded slowly. "It's a miracle my father let them use any materials to build it. He's only allowed so many a year, and if he runs out, new parts come out of my family's pocket."

"Oh. I…I didn't know," Jim said, astonished by what she was telling him. Here he'd been thinking that colonization brought destitute planets out of poverty, but for Akmra, it seemed to be the catalyst for most of the planet's problems.

"Of course not. Why would they tell anyone what they really do?" The cosmos around them began to darken as they talked, and when she turned her eyes up to him, Jim noticed the slight lavender glow they were starting to emit. "You might not be so loyal to them were you to know all their secrets."

"Yeah," he said bitterly. "I'm starting to find that out."

* * *

"Jim, are you sure you want to dock here? It's quite…" Doppler looked out onto the docks, where several shady aliens leaned, partway in the shadows, "…scary. It's scary here Jim."

"Well, we can't dock at our usual spot, now can we?" Jim said, striding over and leaning over the side. Roe in hand, he tossed it, loop-end first, to the peg on the dock, and pulled it tight. "Bring 'er in, Mr. Upstart!"

"Aye aye Captain!"

"Jim, really! Listen to yourself! You've gone mad!" Doppler was still very uneasy about the whole situation. He didn't like breaking rules like that. Little ones, sure, but going against the Empire? The Empire had a whole armada of war ships; they were just one crew on a tiny light artillery ship. The odds were always going to be stacked against them.

"No, Doc, I'm finally sane. Do you really want to sail right back into the hands of those aliens?" As the ship pulled in and rested above the dock, the gangplank was lowered, and the crew started to bustle off. "Be happy! You're gonna see your kids ahead of schedule!"

"Jim, I know you're excited to see Evelyn, but try to see reason-!" But Jim was already walking away. He didn't want the lecture, he already felt a bit uneasy about disobeying orders. But it was nothing compared to the horrible knots that his guts formed when he thought about just blindly following the Fleet Command's orders. They hadn't even listened to him.

Akmra watched the exchange from atop the masts, peering down at the two curiously. They seemed to have a somewhat father-son relationship, but they were obviously not related. Or, if they were, Jim had obviously dodged a genetic bullet. Reaching out, she grabbed a loose hanging rope and climbed down quietly, barely making a sound. When she was almost deck-level, she wrapped her good foot around the rope and swung down, hanging upside down right in front of Doppler.

"You have children?" Akmra asked curiously, as Delbert jumped back in surprise. She remembered seeing a picture of him with some small kids, and it made sense that they would be his progeny.

"Why, yes. I do. Four of them." Smiling slightly, he watched as Akmra released her foot and fell to the deck, landing on her feet. For someone with a fake leg, she was rather agile.

"Hmm. That clears that up," she said, more to herself than to the Doctor.

"Clears what up?"

"I was thinking for a while that you and the Captain might be related. But if your children are all here, he can't possibly be your son." Doppler laughed slightly at this.

"Everyone thinks I'm the father; why?" He shook his head as he walked past her. "I'm Jim's Godfather, and his daughter's Godfather as well. But we have no blood relation. I'm a friend of his mother's." Akmra nodded for a moment, and then stopped to stare at Doppler's back as he walked towards the gangplank.

"Wait, wait…did you say the captain has a daughter?" This was one of those moments she wished she could reach out and touch someone, as she would have loved to stop him by his shoulder.

"Oh…didn't you know?"

"No, only that he had a wife, and that she is dead."

"Oh, well, yes. He and his wife had a child, who his mother is currently watching over on Montressor. We're going to see them now." That made sense; the baby is the picture was Jim's daughter, though she still found it odd that he had a child. He was so immature himself. Following the Doctor across the deck, Akmra vaulted over the side of the railing and landed on the dock with a thud, almost causing one of the crew members carrying a large box to fall over. Without as much as a 'sorry', she ran to catch up with Jim, who was talking with a few men at the end of the dock.

"...and just, keep it quiet, okay? We don't want the whole Spaceport knowing we're here." Akmra saw Jim hand a handful of paper slips to the taller of the two men, who smirked as he thumbed through them.

"Can do!" the two of them said, and melted into the shadows as Akmra approached.

"What was that?" she asked, nodded to where the shady men had been standing.

"Nothing. Just have to make sure we're not in the books as having docked until we're long gone."

"So, what's this about you having a daughter?" Her question came out of seemly nowhere from Jim's point of view, but he knew she would have asked it sooner than later. Still, he was surprised he hiself had not mentioned her in passing before. He thought about Evelyn a lot, but he realized he hardly ever spoke of her.

"Well…I have one," he said, shrugging. "I mean, there's not much of a story there. I took care of her on the Silver for about a year after…uh, well, alone. And then, I had to leave her with my Mother here on Montressor, because I was worried it was too dangerous for her, to stay with me."

"Oh. Why haven't you mentioned her before?" Jim shrugged as he started walking back towards the ship, Akmra close behind.

"It just…never came up I guess," he said. "I've had too much on my mind lately. Too many things have been happening and clogging up my brain." Akmra didn't say anything after that, and hung back, to think by herself. When Jim went below deck to prepare one of the longboats for launch, she followed quietly behind, not slipping back out of the shadows until he was about ready to shove off. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked her, inputting the coordinates and slipping one of the anchoring knots loose.

"Down to the planet, of course." She stepped into the boat, her metal foot hitting the bottom with a thud. Jim shook his head at her.

"Oh, no you're not! You're staying here! You bother me enough at Space, I don't want you bothering my family!"

"I will not bother them!" she protested, slightly offended. "And what am I supposed to do up here for several days?"

"Watch the ship, is all." Jim didn't want the annoying girl coming down to Montressor with him; this was the one time he would get to see his daughter in such a long time, and Akmra was not going to ruin it for him! She had other plans, though.

"No. I want to see the planet. I've never been on any other planet besides my own."

"No! That is final!"

"Are we shoving off?" Just as it was beginning to turn into a shouting match, Doppler waltzed in and stepped into the longboat, sitting down. He was seemingly unaware of the tension between the two, but before Jim could say anything, Akmra piped up.

"Yes, the Captain was just telling me about how much he missed his family," she told Doppler with a smile. Doppler returned the expression, and looked to Jim expectantly, waiting for him to release the last few knots and start off towards the planet surface. Jim just glared openly at Akmra, wishing he had turned around and sent her home when he had the chance.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

Akmra wasn't exactly sure what she expected from Montressor; colors, lights, people, even just some trees would have been nice. But as they descended towards the surface, she realized that Jim's home planet wasn't all that different than Luria. Small, sparsely populated, dim, dingy. The only major difference was the sun, which shone brightly overhead, though the light didn't seem to make the landscape any less abysmal. At least Lumria had trees, though they were all grey and stunted in their growth. Here, as far as she could see, he land was barren, rising up only to form mountains and plateaus in the distance.

'This…this can't be what all planets look like,' she thought to herself, squinting against the light. This had to just be a dingy planet. No, there had to be others, that were bright and vibrant and colorful. Montressor and Lumria had to be the only planets like this.

Jim wasn't paying much attention to Akmra's appraisal of his home, though. He sat, impatiently waiting to dock at the Benbow. He hadn't seen his daughter in nearly three years; he tried to remember exactly how old she was when he left her here. She had to be close to four years old by now, if not already. A sudden wave of apprehension washed over him as he realized something for the first time; of course Jim remembered Evelyn, there was no way for him to forget her. She was all he ever thought about! But would she even realize who he was? Would she treat him like a stranger? She was four years old, for crying out loud, and she'd only been a baby last time he'd seen her. There was no way she'd recognize him.

Dread slowly melted the smile from his face, and when the longboat came to a halt above the dock and Doppler and Akmra climbed out, he sat still, not quite sure what to do.

"Jim?" Doppler said, looking back to see the Captain hadn't moved. "What are you doing?"

"I…I can't…she won't know who I am," Jim finally said, a bit frantically. "I'm so stupid; I thought, maybe, she would know, but…I'll be a stranger to her, Doc!"

"Come now, Jim, Sarah wouldn't let Evelyn grow up, not knowing what you look like!" He waved away the fear, like it was a bothersome fly. "There's pictures of you all over the Benbow! And Sarah would have sung your praises to her at every available moment."

"But it's not the same! I'll walk in, and she might recognize how I look but, she still doesn't know me!" He stood and stepped out of the boat, not bothering to tie it down. It wasn't like it could go anywhere.

"Well, Jim, you knew this would happen when you left her with your Mother…didn't you?" Both Doppler and Akmra were staring at him now, the latter not having too much context for the conversation, but observing none the less. Jim just stared back at them, shoulders slumped.

"I…I guess I did, in the back of my mind. But I didn't really think about it. I just wanted her to be safe." Neither man said anything for a long moment and, seeing a lull in the conversation and grabbing it, Akmra spoke up.

"Simkov never knew my Mother," she started, both sets of eyes turning on her. "But if she were to come back today, he would love her. Your daughter may not know you, but children don't need to have a reason to love their parents. They just do." A small smile formed on Doppler's wrinkled face.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," he said quietly, and reached out to set a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Everything will be fine. You'll see. Come on." Jim numbly followed after the Doctor, and cast a somewhat confused glance at Akmra, whose face was kept carefully blank. Why had she offered up advice like that? She was such a pain in the ass, and yet, she did things like this. The weird feeling in his stomach was back, though not as strong or foreboding as when he'd been reassigned to the suicide mission. Sort of light and somewhat unfamiliar. He still didn't like it completely.

Akmra squinted at the shape of the Benbow as it rose up ahead of them, gleaming white in the mid afternoon sun. She didn't recognize the material it was made of immediately, but when she did, she nearly laughed out loud.

"It's made of wood!?" she said, giving the Captain and the Doctor an incredulous look. "That's what ships are made of! Why would you make a house out of it!?"

"Uh, all houses are made of wood," Jim told her, raising an eyebrow. "Most buildings are."

"No! That's a lie!" She laughed again, unable to fully grasp the concept of wasting such a valuable commodity. On Lumria, wood was prized as an essential ship building component, and even before the Empire came and stripped the planet of the best wood bearing trees, it was never used for something as trivial as a house! They had to be kidding her. But the looks on both of their faces told otherwise. "You are making a joke, no?"

"Wood is abundant in the Empire," Doppler said as they continued towards the Benbow. "It's the cheapest material to make structures out of." Akmra could not get over how strange it was, seeing a house that looked so much like a ship! It was even big like an Imperial ship, and she wondered why Jim's family required such a huge residence. In fact, she was about to ask him that very thing, but they were already stranding on the porch, and Jim was turning the handle to go inside.

The bell above the door rang as Jim took a few steps in, looking around somewhat wearily. The main room of the Inn was moderately crowded, and for the most part, his entrance was largely ignored. Doppler stuck his head in next, and, looking around, scratched his temple.

"No sign of BEN or Sarah. They're probably both in the kitchen." Doppler took the lead towards the kitchen while Jim hung back. Despite Akmra's words, he was still unsure. What if she was wrong? What if Evelyn didn't want anything to do with him? Why would she, he thought dismally, he'd basically abandoned her here. While he was off, gallivanting around the universe, she'd been here, without a Mother or a Father, wondering why neither of them had wanted her. It wasn't true! He loved her more than anything, but how would a four year old understand that he'd left her here for her own good? She was going to hate him, he just knew it, he just-

"Jim?" He must have looked like an idiot standing there, lost in his own thoughts, but Doppler's voice brought his head out of the clouds. Bringing his attention back to where he was, Doppler was standing behind a very pleased looking Sarah, who was holding none other than Evelyn. Doppler cleared his throat, and smiled. "Jim, I'd like to reintroduce you to your daughter, Evelyn May." The little girl, who sported a head full of curly black hair and dimples just like her mother, smiled as she buried her head in Sarah's shoulder. Jim's heart just about melted.

"She's shy," Sarah said, eyes already wet with tears. "Eve, don't you want to say hi?" Peeking an eye out, the little girl raised a hand to wave at him. Her tiny 'Hi' was barely audible.

"Hey," was all Jim could manage to say, one side of his mouth pulling up into a crooked smile. He laughed once, nervously, and rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say to her. He wanted to hold her and hug her and tell her how much he missed her, but he somehow couldn't. He just stood there, transfixed.

"Do you know who that is?" Sarah asked, shifting Evelyn to rest on her hip so that she was unable to hide her face in her grandmother's shoulder. She hid her face behind her hands instead.

"Yeah," she squeaked, still smiling, though unable to look up at her Father. "He's Dad." At this, Jim laughed again, though more out of relief this time. His grin spread from ear to ear, and he pressed one of his hands to his face, disbelief making his fingers shake.

"Well, do you want to meet him then?" Peeking up to look at Sarah with her round, emerald eyes, the little girl nodded slightly, and Sarah set her down on the ground. Stooping down to kneel on one knee, Jim held his breath as he waited for her to directly acknowledge him. Rocking back and forth on her heels, his daughter finally met his eyes.

"I'm Evelyn," she said, reaching up to play with one of the dark corkscrews that had fallen across her eyes. "I seen you in the picture books Gramma has. You're my Dad, right?" In that moment, Jim could see every emotion play across her miniature features; happiness, uncertainty, fright, hope, love, and he knew he couldn't put his answer in words. All he was able to do was lean down and pull her close, tears already escaping his eyes. And Evelyn, bless her little heart, hugged him right back.

* * *

Emily and Adelaide sat patiently watching their brother, tinkering with their solar kite, which had become tangled and bent when it had accidentally collided with Old Man Jenks' chimney. Anabelle paced wildly around the three, throwing glances at Daniel every so often.

"When will it be done?" she asked him for the hundredth time, her short hair swinging in her eyes as she paced. "Ug, it's taking forever!"

"I don't see you trying to resync the panels here," Daniel retorted, slipping the disheveled solar panels back into place like pieces of a puzzle. As the most outspoken of the four, Anabelle was also the most impatient, and had been the one who had steered the kite straight into a collision course with Jenks' chimney. Trying unsuccessfully to tuck her short red hair behind her ears, she turned her nose up at her brother.

"Hmph!" As the four siblings bickered amongst themselves, Delbert and Sarah sat on the front steps of Delbert's palatial home. The air was warm, if not a little stagnant, and only the faintest ghost of a breeze ruffled Sarah's hair; perfect solar kite flying weather. The two old friends watched as Daniel was finally able to fix it, and the four leapt up to launch it into the sky again.

"They grow up so fast," Delbert sighed, resting his chin in his hand. "It feels like just yesterday I said goodbye to a bunch of seven year olds, and now they're already eleven? I'm getting too old to be going on these missions anymore."

"No one says you still have to," Sarah said. "They're only this age for a little while, Delbert."

"I know. Being at Space is so fascinating; you'd never believe all the research I've conducted while aboard the Silver! I'm sure the specifics would bore you to death, but it's more than I could have ever imagined gathering here on Montressor! But," he sighed, smiling slightly as his children shrieked with laughter as the kite made a nosedive straight towards Anabelle, "I wonder now; is it still worth it?"

"You know what my answer is." Sarah cast him a knowing look. He knew exactly what she would say; nothing is as important as your family.

"I know Jim's fully capable of handling himself out there, but I still can't help feeling that he needs someone there to help him along. He's come close to losing himself so many times out there, that, I worry if he'll be alright without me?"

"Delbert, as much as I wish that he was, he's not a little boy. He's the Captain of his own ship! And besides," she gave him what he knew she thought was a reassuring smile, "he's never truly alone. He's got the Imperial Fleet behind him." Doppler tried not to look too nervous; he didn't want to worry Sarah with any details about their arrival on Montressor or their temporary deflection from the Navy.

"I just worry. It's silly, I know. But I do."

"I know, Del. I do too." The two friends sat in silence for a moment, before a crash could be heard from inside the house, before the front door opened.

"There are too many things in there!" Akmra declared, shaking loose a golden circular instrument from her arm, and kicking several tape measures off of her good leg. "It is like a garage, only with useless things!"

"Hey!" Doppler stood, catching the golden instrument, whatever it was, before it could hit the ground. "Be careful! What did you knock over!?"

"What didn't I knock over?" Crossing her arms, she glanced back through the open door. "What are all those things in there used for anyway?"

"My studies!" Doppler's eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead and he tried not to think about the damage Akmra could have caused inside his house. Why he brought her, he'd never know. "They're highly precise, calibrated tools to measure and quantify astronomical phenomenon! My stuff is not a bunch of playthings!"

"And this whole place," she continued, ignoring the Doctor, "It's all made of wood! Do you realize you could make maybe three good ships out of this house?" As Doppler untangled the measuring tapes she had dragged out, Sarah covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Ever since Jim had dragged this girl through the door of the Benbow, she had been nothing but entertaining to Sarah. She could see the irritation she caused her son, but Sarah found Akmra delightfully blunt and unfamiliar with how they lived on Montressor, and found no reason to dislike her. Sitting down beside Jim's mother, Akmra let out a heavy breath that fluttered the hair in front of her face. "When does it get dark here? I feel like my eyes are on fire from all this light!"

"Not for a few more hours," Sarah said, giving her a kind smile. "How long did you say night is back on your home planet?"

"It is like three of your nights, and our days are very short. It doesn't get this bright on Lumria." Holding her hand up to block the sun's rays from her eyes, she squinted out at Doppler's four children, running around the front lawn. "Doctor, when did you say your wife was getting home?"

"Any time now!" Doppler called from inside, as he attempted to right the damage Akmra had caused to his meticulously piled devices. She was growing impatient, waiting for his Headmistress wife. She wanted to speak with her about Jim's recommendation, and securing Simkov a spot in a branch of the academy. Montressor was a bit far for her brother to travel for an education, but she figured Doppler's wife may know of a closer institution.

"So, tell me a bit more about yourself, Akmra. Jim doesn't usually take a shine to anyone; you must be quite the character for him to like you so much."

"Your son does not like me very much," she replied, bluntly. "He finds me troublesome and in the way. But that's alright, I find him the same."

"That's how Jim treats people he care for; like he doesn't care about them." Sarah knew her son well; if he didn't at least tolerate Akmra, there was no way he would have allowed her to come along. He'd told her the whole story of how he'd come to be "saddled with such an annoying nuisance" but his Mother knew better. She didn't believe for one second that he disliked her even half as much as he said.

"Well, then that's a very bad way to win allies. He could have fooled me." On the other hand, Akmra didn't believe Jim liked her in the slightest, and wasn't shy about saying it through her sarcastic reply to his own mother. Sarah laughed, though. "I have not seen him since we first landed here, though, so for once, he is not constantly in my way and under my feet."

"I assume he's intending to spend as much time with his daughter as possible," Doppler interjected, walking back out onto the front steps. "And he was worried she wouldn't like him; I've never seen a Father get along so well with his daughter. Even me! Lord knows my daughters don't listen to a word I say!" Just then, the solar kite Anabelle had shanghaied from her brother's grasp came crashing down inches from Doppler, causing him to jump back in surprise.

"Sorry Dad!" she called, yanking it back up into the sky.

"Be careful!" he called after them, but they weren't listening. "See?" Both women laughed at this, and Delbert smiled. Who would have guessed Jim's biggest annoyance would get along so well with his Mother?


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Jim sat on the floor, crosslegged as Evelyn pranced around her room wearing one of Sarah's sun hats and pink slippers, a pink plastic teapot under one of her arms. The table in front of him was set with mismatched child-sized tableware and around it sat stuffed animals in various states of distress; some looked brand new while others were patched several times over. The moose directly to Jim's right only had one button eye.

"Here, you can wear this!" Pulling on old Captain's hat from under a pile of books on her bedside table, she walked over and set it on Jim's head, and it sagged over his eyes. "You can be the Captain!"

"But I'm a real Captain," he said, tipping the brim up and smiling at her. Evelyn's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked in awe, and threw her hands up when her Father nodded yes. "Does that make me a Princess!?"

"Uh, I'm not sure it works like…you know what? Yes. Yes it does." Evelyn started spinning around at this news, and nearly toppled over as she tripped herself up in her slippers that were at least three sizes too big. "Careful!" Jim said, reaching out to catch her before she hit the ground.

"I'm a Princess! I'm a Princess!" Completely forgetting about their 'tea', she climbed up onto her bed and reached for the little rhinestone tiara that sat on a shelf above the headboard. Jim stood and took it down for her, and as Evelyn pulled the sunhat off and flung it on the ground, he set it amongst the curls on top of her head. "Now everyone has to do what I say, 'cause I'm the Princess!"

"Of course you are! You're my little Princess!" Picking her up, Jim spun her around, and as she shrieked with delight, Sarah came to stand in the doorway and smiled as she watched them.

"Not like we don't already do anything she says," she said with a slight smirk. It had already been two days since her son had arrived, and every waking moment he'd spent with his daughter. Doppler had warned her that Jim had been uncertain whether or not Evelyn would like him, but Sarah had known better. Evelyn loved everyone, and there hadn't been a day that Sarah didn't tell her about her brave, courageous hero of a Father. Since Evelyn had begun to speak, all she'd ever asked for was to meet her Dad.

Akmra was not far behind Mrs. Hawkins, and when she poked her head into the room as well, she was somewhat amazed by the amount of toys this little girl possessed. To say she'd been spoiled was an understatement; to Akmra's eyes, this child must have indeed been born a Princess. And as soon as she appeared, Evelyn squealed and demanded to be put down.

"Acorn!" she said, and as soon as her feet touched the ground she skipped over and hugged Akmra around her shins. Ever since the little girl had laid eyes on the woman with the 'pretty purple eyes' she'd been in love! Picking up what her Father had meant as an insult, she christened her 'Acorn', only because she couldn't pronounce her real name correctly, and while Akmra would not have tolerated this from anyone else, she figured, Evelyn was just a child. She couldn't know any better. And besides, she knew it drove Jim crazy that his daughter was so enamored with his arch nemesis, so anything the little girl called her would have been fine. She even didn't mind the fact that Evelyn hugged her every time she saw her, though the contact did still make her skin crawl slightly. "Acorn, I'm a Princess!"

"Is that so?" Akmra said, taking a miniscule step away from the child, just enough as to break away from the hug. "I see you're wearing an Imperial-style crown; that must mean you are royalty." Jim looked haplessly to his Mother as Evelyn began dancing in circles around Akmra, but Sarah only shook her head and smiled. How his own Mother could be on HER side was completely beyond Jim, but it was three against one here, and of course he didn't want to fight in front of Evelyn. So instead of saying the first insult that came to his mind as he usually would have, he kept quiet, and sat back down on the bed.

"You can be a princess too!" she sang, plucking the tiara off of her head and holding it up. "And Gramma too! But not Daddy, 'cause he's a boy, so he has to be a Captain." Uncertain of how to react, Akmra stood still for a moment, and in her hesitation, Sarah reached forward and took the tiara from her granddaughter.

"I think there's only room for one Princess in this house," she said, placing the trinket back on Evelyn's head. "Acorn and I will just be your ladies in waiting."

"Waiting for what?" She looked inquisitively up at the two women, before getting distracted by a couple of birds that had landed on her window sill. "Oooh! Look!"

"She loves birds," Sarah told Akmra, and Evelyn scrambled up to sit in her Father's lap as she stared out the window at the little brown birds that pecked at the dirt in the flower box. "Come on. I'm sure Jim is secretly annoyed that we're up here." Jim shot his Mother another glance, and both women smiled, somewhat evilly.

"Annoyed, I agree. Secretly, I do not think so." Bit for once, she didn't put up a fight, and followed Sarah back down the hallway. She didn't know what it was, but she liked this woman. Perhaps it was the way she seemed to be fundamentally at odds with her son; she could tell they loved each other, but their relationship was somewhat snarky in her eyes. Both Sarah and Jim seemed to thrive off of each other's sarcastic quips. So for this, Akmra approved of her, and even felt a little admiration for her. To put up with the Captain for so long and still be sane? Akmra wouldn't be able to do it.

* * *

The sun was setting over the cliffs to the west as Jim pushed the old attic window open. Even after his adventure when he'd been younger, he'd loved to come up here on the roof, just to think. It had been one of his refuges during his years at the Academy. And now, as a fully grown man, he still couldn't think of any better place to sort out his thoughts. It was partially why he liked the crow's nest on the Silver so much; it reminded him of his old hideout. Scrambling out of the window and climbing up to the joint in the tiles between the roof and the chimney, he sat with his back to the stone, and fell silent as he watched the sun descend.

Evelyn had fallen asleep while playing dressup, in a big pile of old clothes she'd had Jim drag out from the back of her closet. He'd carried her back to her bed and tucked her in, but he was nowhere near being tired himself, and not really feeling like going down to listen to BEN talk his ear off, he'd sought his old perch. Letting out a ragged sigh, he wondered how much longer they could realistically stay on Montressor. He knew the Doc was thinking about staying behind; it was easy for him. He wasn't an Officer in the Navy, just a temporary crewman and researcher. If he stayed behind, the Fleet wouldn't come looking for him. But Jim knew that, eventually, he himself would have to move on. Staying here too long risked capture, and there was no way he wanted that. But he didn't want to just up and leave his daughter, not right after they'd only just met!

He would have never imagined, in all his life, that Evelyn would be so precious! He'd always imagined her somewhat of a tomboy, but the fact that she couldn't be girlier just made him want to laugh and shower her with affection! It was adorable how her nose would crinkle up when she laughed, or how her cheeks dimpled when she smiled, or the way she would follow Sarah around like a little duckling, copying her every move! When Sarah had been scolding BEN for dropping a tray again Evelyn had been standing by her feet, hands on her hips, chubby face contorted into a miniature scowl. And as soon as Sarah turned away, the scowl broke into a smile, and she'd skipped over to kiss BEN on the cheek. Er, well, the metal plate where a cheek could have been.

Laughing out loud for just a moment, Jim couldn't think of anything cuter than his little daughter. Everything she did was just….magic. If he'd thought leaving her behind the first time had been hard, it would be torture now.

But what choice did he have?

Contemplating every option he could think of, he figured he had, at most, maybe two more days planetside, before they had to leave. And while he was thinking, he didn't notice when Akmra, while poking around the attic, noticed the open window, nor did he notice when she stuck her head out, and climbed out onto the roof to investigate. In fact, he was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize she was there until she sat down beside him, and gave him a strange look.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked him, and he jumped a little from surprise.

"You seriously need to stop sneaking up on me," he said, though she ignored him, like usual. Rolling his eyes, he sat back against the chimney. "This is where I always used to come as a kid to sit and think."

"Like the crow's nest," Akmra said, and Jim nodded.

"Exactly."

"You are thinking about Evelyn, and the time you have left with her," she said, correctly guessing his thoughts yet again. He was starting to wonder if she were some sort of mind reader. "You wear your thoughts like a leaf wears green. It is easy to guess what you are thinking." Running her hands through her hair, which was, for the first time in months, tangle free though still very wavy, she gave him a sidelong glance.

"Why do I even need alone time? You can just voice my thoughts for me," he said sarcastically.

"How long do we have?" She turned her face to him, her eyes just beginning to glow as the sun was swallowed up by the horizon. Jim shrugged.

"Two days, I'd guess. We could stay longer, but then we'd risk getting caught."

"I see." She nodded, but didn't take her eyes from his face. "Sarah has raised Evelyn just as royalty. She is, indeed, a Princess. Which is not something good in my culture, but, I think, in yours it is regarded as the best way to raise children." Jim laughed at this, a little bitterly.

"Yeah; she is a little Princess. She had everything she could possibly want. Everything she deserves."

"…Except for you." Her voice was low as she spoke, and raising an eyebrow at her, Jim didn't know how to respond. "When she was playing with Sarah in the kitchen today, she told her that she would rather be playing with you. And-" Suddenly, Akmra stopped talking, and for the first time in a very, very long time, she thought that maybe she shouldn't tell Jim what she was about to say, for fear of hurting him. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she knew he would both love and hate to hear it. It was not an easy thing to decide.

"And, what?" Jim asked, curious. Akmra bit her lip and looked down momentarily trying to decide. "What happened/' he pressed.

"She told your Mother that she never wants you to go away again."

Everything was absolutely still and absolutely quiet for a very long minute. Jim was staring Akmra straight in the eyes, emotionless, expressionless, though she was growing increasingly more anxious for his eventual reaction. And finally, when he looked away, all he could do open and close his mouth again, like he was about to say something, but then thought better of it.

There was absolutely no way he would be able to abandon Evelyn again. Not now that Akmra had told him this. And he couldn't believe she had told him that! What was it about being on the planet that was making her so pleasant and agreeable. True, he still saw her snarky side come out, but first her words of reassurance when they'd first arrived, and her kindness to his daughter, and now this? Was it something about the air on Montressor? The water?

"Captain?" Akmra said, reaching a hand forward and waving it in front of his eyes. "Captain? Are you okay?" He looked back over to her, her face lit up by the luminescence from her large, round eyes, not even the slightest hint of a scowl or a smirk on her features. He blinked twice, before gathering his wits about him.

"Yeah, yeah…look, just call me Jim, alright?"


End file.
